New Rocket
by Wedrestamos
Summary: Team Rocket is dead and buried. It has tried to be successful, and it has failed twice. Until a new face shows up...what will its fate be?
1. Chapter 1

**So, I'm gonna try something interesting. Please leave reviews and thoughts. I'm intrigued by this thought…**

"_Giovanni, you can't!"_

"_I can and I must. I was defeated, and I will stay true to my word. I promised that Trainer that I would disband Team Rocket."_

"_But…Giovanni…"_

"_My protégé, in this business, one must learn when to cut their losses." He held up a suitcase. "I have my cut, you have yours. Do with it what you will." He walked out, never to be seen again._

**Three Years Later**

"_Archer, you can't!"_

"_I can, and I will! Giovanni is never coming back, and I've finally realized that…we must cut our losses."_

"_We can come back from this!"_

"_No…we can't…" He walked out, never to be seen again._

**One Year Later**

I walked through the hallway, intent on my destination. I opened the door and sat in front of the desk presented to me. "Let me get straight to the point. I would like-"

"I've heard of you. And of your requests. It has been tried before-and failed-more than once. However…they say great things come in threes. I grant your request. Where do you plan on starting?"

"Hoenn. Archie and Maxie realized the error of their ways, so the citizens of that region are used to a certain amount of peace."

"Until you get there."

"That's the point."

_My name is Milas, I am protégé of the great Giovanni himself, and I plan to rebuild Team Rocket from the ground up at the mere age of sixteen._

**Again, leave thoughts. I know this is short, but that is merely because this is a prologue of sorts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Four Months Later**

I disembarked from the ship that brought me to Slateport, my black pinstripe suit rustling in the wind. I pulled my fedora down over my black sunglasses and continued walking. As I got to customs, a man took my passport, which was required for trans-region travel. "Everything seems to be in order, Mr…I'm sorry, what does this say?"

"Chinobi. Marek Chinobi."

He nodded and handed the passport to me. "Well, Mr. Chinobi, I hope you enjoy your time here in the lovely Hoenn region."

"I plan to…"

I walked through the gate and took in the bustling port city. According to my sponsor, my new base was in Mauville. I grimaced slightly at his request. Fifty thousand Poke…all within a week after I had arrived in the region. I sighed and kept walking. I rented a car to drive to Mauville, and they said they had a service in that city where I could drop it. I began my drive.

About ten minutes later, I arrived in Mauville, and I began to see my sponsor's reasoning. It was a big city, easy for any building to be a needle in a haystack. I dropped the car off and began to wander through the streets, looking for the building he had supplied me.

I went off the sidewalk and went into an alley, trying to keep a lowish profile. Immediately I felt a knife press against my side and a voice say, "Give me your money, now!"

The voice sounded feminine, and as a gentleman-in-training, I didn't hurt women unless I absolutely had to. I put my hands up and said, "May I see the face of my attacker?"

"No, you'll just rat me out to the police!"

"I don't get police involved. Ever."

I felt the pressure weaken slightly. "Really?"

"Really. Now…will you trust me?"

Silence. Then the knife went away completely, and someone stepped in front of me. Like I had thought, it was female, but it looked pretty skinny, like it hadn't had proper nourishment. Her black hair went down to her mid-back, and her brown eyes were cold and searching. The most surprising thing was that she was my age, sixteen or so.

She said, "You're different."

I nodded. "Very. Look, it looks like you need food. Come with me and I can get you a meal. No police needed."

She looked at me. "Will you kill me?"

I shook my head. "Not unless I have to. Come." I began to walk out of the alley, and she followed.

About twenty minutes later, I found the building my sponsor left me. I sighed at its dinginess, and my companion said, "Nice place."

I shot her a look, but it lost some effect due to the sunglasses. I went in, and she followed.

"Whoa."

I had to agree with her. The place…it was lavish. Red velvet floor, whitewashed walls that could easily be painted over…I assumed that my sponsor had left me all of this, plus all the basics for living.

I looked around and said, "Wow…he wants me to succeed…"

"Who?"

I turned to my companion. "Before I tell you that, what's your name?"

She shuffled a bit, and I said, "No police, remember? Trust me."

She nodded nervously and said, "I'm Nulos. You?"

I looked her over and said, "Tell me something right now. If I were to hire you for something, would you betray me, even if it became apparent that most if not all of my activities were illegal?"

She gave me an odd look, but she said, "If that means you take me in and keep me off the streets…then I would never betray you."

I nodded. See, I have this…call it instinct. I always can determine a person's loyalty, no matter what. It shows me their loyalty through all sorts of situations. It's helpful for allies…and enemies. I can easily weed out any doubters in the organization.

"I am Milas, protégé of the great Giovanni, and I intend to bring Team Rocket back from the ground up."

Her eyes widened. "Team Rocket?!"

I nodded, and she said, "Wow…you're criminal on so many levels!" She smiled. "I love criminality! Or whatever the hell the word is…"

I grinned. "Good. Would you like to be an admin?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, please! I would love to join this organization and make so much money!"

"Don't forget the power."

She nodded, and I said, "This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

A man walked in, and I pointed my pistol with silencer at him. "You have three seconds to tell me what the hell you're doing here, otherwise you die silently."

The guy-about sixteen-said, "You said Team Rocket. I owe them. I politely ask to join."

I looked him over, my instinct still analyzing him. It stopped, and I got a very good vibe from this guy. "Name."

"My name's Heris. Does that mean I'm in?"

I lowered my pistol. "Yes. You're now an admin."

He smiled. "You're so quick to trust."

"I have my reasons."

He looked me over, which gave me a chance to look at him. He was dressed plainly in grey pants and a grey shirt, with a grey jacket. I saw the bulges, and I said, "Just the two?"

"Excuse me?"

I pointed at the bulges in his jacket. "Two handguns. Yours. Just those?"

He looked at me, then pulled out his two handguns. "You're good…"

I shrugged. "Trained by Giovanni himself. Have to be."

His eyes lit up. "You were trained by Giovanni?! Amazing!"

"So why do you owe Team Rocket?"

He grimaced, and I figured I had hit a sore point. "I'll tell you some other time. I can't right now…"

"Very well. Do you have silencers?"

He nodded, and I said, "This is Nulos. She's also an admin, and as far as I know, she doesn't have a gun, just a knife."

She nodded. "My trusty knife. I always keep it close."

I looked at her. "Very well. You can keep it, but you get a gun. Heris?"

He handed one of his guns to Nulos, and he said, "You know how to fire one of these?"

She nodded. "Some muggers I know use handguns. Sometimes they show off."

I looked at both of them. "Both of you use silencers. I don't want to reveal Team Rocket until I'm ready."

They nodded, and I turned to my other problem, getting the fifty thousand by next week. From the cut I got from the Giovanni era, I had about five thousand. Which left forty five thousand…ugh.

I turned to my new admins. "Do either of you know how to raise forty-five thousand Poke within a week?"

They looked at each other, then back at me. Nulos asked, "Why?"

"This building-really this chance-was given to me by a sponsor, who said I need to give him fifty-thousand Poke within a week of arrival. Once I do that, he'll give me all of this for free. He wants me to prove myself."

"Well, how do you do that?"

I wondered that same question, then it hit me. I pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. I rang a few times, then someone answered with an irritated "What."

"Trascill. It's Milas."

"Milas! Good to hear from you! Do you have Team Rocket off the ground yet?"

"Working on it. I need forty-five thousand Poke by the end of the week. I know you're not a bank, but I know that you're the guy to talk to for anything to be sold anywhere under the radar."

"Fair point. Forty-five, huh? Hm…well, you know my specialty."

"Human trafficking."

"Yeah, and I've learned a few things. College coeds who are also virgins…you have no idea how popular they are."

"Guys wanna say that they popped a coed's cherry."

"Right, and as such, that market is booming. One easily goes for ten-thousand, at least."

"Damn! That's high for a coed."

"That's what I think, but people are greedy. And horny. Five should give you what you need."

"Hm…does your reach have a limit?"

"Nope. The girls can be taken from anywhere, so long as they're college age and virgins."

"Thanks. I'll call you later."

"I'll be waiting."

I hung up and put the phone in my pocket. I turned to the others and asked, "Either of you good with computers?"

Heris raised his hand. "I'm not the best ever, but I know my way through a hack program."

"Second floor should be full of computers. Find one and find any close college campuses."

"On it." He left the room, and I turned to Nulos. "Third floor should have a change of clothes. You can get something different once we have enough money, but for now, work with that. Once you change, go into the city and look for possible candidates to join Team Rocket. You know the type."

She nodded and went upstairs to change. I watched her go, and I went to the fourth floor. The elevator doors dinged, and I walked out onto the velvet floor towards my office. I opened the door, and I took it in. The mahogany desk went nicely with the room, which was in darker colors. Not black, just dark. I sat behind the desk and admired its great craftsmanship. I noticed a note on the desk phone, and I picked it up. It read, 'If you're reading this, chances are you found the building. Congratulations. You know my deadline. You know my price. If you succeed, I will supply you with as many men and women as you need.'

I leaned back on the chair and smiled. This could work out very well…


	3. Chapter 3

As I took in my office, my phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Milas."

"Milas, it's Heris. I checked around, and it turns out there's several colleges. I checked them all, so we have a bunch to choose from."

"Good."

"I'm looking for a variety of girls because, let's face it, people have preferences."

"That they do. Give me a list of fifteen as soon as you can."

"On it, boss."

He hung up, and I put the phone back down. I pulled out my Poke Ball and looked at it, then I called out the Pokémon inside. Instantly a Zweilous was standing before me. I pet its heads and said, "We're finally doing it, guys. We're bringing Team Rocket back."

Both heads cried out, and I tossed them some meat I had picked up. One for each head so they didn't fight. As they ate, I called it back and thought about it. It was really one of my closest allies. I smiled, thinking about the history. Long story short, whenever I was around a kill, whether by gunshot, stabbing, or anything…let's just say that Zweilous wasn't picky about its food.

The phone rang again, and I picked it up. "Milas."

"Milas, it's Nulos. I've found several possible candidates."

"Skills."

"One's a geek, one's a nerd, one's a sniper, and one…well, I don't remember his talent, but I know he has one."

"Only one question. What's the difference between a geek and a nerd?"

"Nerd means hacker, and geek means builder."

"Ah. That helps. Find some more of all kinds, if you can. We need people."

"On it, boss."

I put the phone back down, and someone knocked on my door. "Enter."

Heris walked in and placed a list in front of me. "Fifteen girls, all in the city, all virgins. Like you suggested, I found as much of a variety as I could."

I scanned the list of names and descriptions of body types. "Perfect. This list will do wonderfully."

"Also, it's a school break this weekend. Might help."

"Hm…" I thought about it, then it hit me. "Nulos said she found some people to help. One sec." I picked up the phone and dialed Nulos. She answered quickly. "Nulos."

"Nulos, do you have any smooth-talkers?"

"Yeah, one or two. Why?"

"Keep searching, but send any smooth talkers here. I have an idea."

"Got it, boss."

I hung the phone back up, and I said, "Go down to the lobby and wait for them. You have the gun. Attach the silencer, and if they don't know Nulos, shoot them. We'll figure out disposal later."

"Got it." He walked out and closed the door. I went through another door to check out the room my sponsor had left. It was obviously for residence, for there was a bed and attached bathroom and kitchen. I smiled at the generosity of my sponsor.

My phone rang, and I answered it, "Milas."

"They're here."

"With or without lead?"

"Without."

"I'll be right down." I hung up and took the elevator down.

The doors opened, and I looked at these two guys. One was blond, and the other had black hair, but otherwise they looked the same. Soft eyes, a devilish smile, and clothes just screaming smooth. "You Nulos's guys?"

They nodded, and the blond said, "Nulos said you wanted smooth talkers."

I nodded, buying my time for my instinct to analyze them. It finished, and these guys were clean. "Yeah, I do. You two interested in joining Team Rocket?"

They nodded, and I said, "Good. Names?"

The blond said, "I'm Risot, and this is Risat, my brother."

"Never would've guessed…anyways, is one of you better than the other at smooth talking?"

They shook their heads, and I said, "All right. Risot, mission for you. This weekend, there's a school break for colleges. Your job is to pick up these fifteen girls and bring them here under the pretense of a hot new club. Capiche?"

I handed him the list, and he nodded. "What do I get for a vehicle?"

"Uh…good question."

My sponsor said nothing about a garage, but Heris gestured towards a door. I opened it, and I saw a huge expanse of unmarked vehicles without plates. I smiled and said, "Limo."

"Nice!"

"Risat, this mission is yours, too. One limo can't hold all fifteen, so we'll need two. Split them the best way you can."

"Got it, boss."

I turned to them. "Until the weekend, however, I believe you have some time to kill."

Nulos walked in with several others. "These are the others I've found so far."

"That should work." My instinct started to analyze. "Who's good with a gun?"

They all raised their hands, and my instinct finished. I pointed at two of them and told them, "Get out. If you tell anyone you were here, you're dead. Go."

They looked at each other and left. Nulos asked, "What was that for?"

"They prefer money over loyalty. Perfectly fine, but I need loyalty in my new Team Rocket."

She nodded. "Valid enough…"

I stood in front of them and said, "Okay, impromptu tour. First floor is lobby, second is computers and R&D, for you geeks and nerds. Third floor is clothing and stuff for undercover work-"

Nulos interrupted. "And armory."

I turned to her. "Say what?"

"Yeah, about half the floor's for undercover stuff, but the other half is guns, knifes, all sorts of stuff."

I saw two of them drooling when she mentioned the weapons, and I pointed at them and said, "You two are in charge of the armory. Make an inventory of everything if one's not already there. You're there to dispense weapons when needed."

They nodded and ran past me, running upstairs. I shook my head in wonder. Just like children…

I turned back to the others. "Fourth floor is my office and living quarters."

One person raised their hand. "For all of us or just you?"

"For everyone. I saw barracks on the way to my office."

He smiled, and I said, "All right. You are all officially now part of Team Rocket! Fill out a paper and have it to me by the end of the week." Heris handed them papers, and they went up.

Nulos looked at me. "What's with the papers?"

"Just a bio sheet for each of them so we know what kind of people we have."

She nodded. "So…does that mean we sleep in the barracks, too?"

I shook my head. "I saw two bedrooms going off from mine. I assume that they're for the admins."

She smiled, and I said, "Go. Sleep. As much as I like making money off of virgins, we do need sleep. We'll take them in two days, when the school break starts."

They nodded, and the three of us went upstairs to rest and prepare for whatever came our way.

**Yes, it may seem a little dull, but I promise next chapter will pick up the pace.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh, by the way, this isn't as much a Pokémon story as a Team Rocket story, so for anyone expecting Pokémon battles…well, don't get your hopes up.**

The weekend had finally arrived, and I thought my plan was foolproof. I sent the limos out and waited in the lobby for their return. Heris came over to me and asked, "You sure it'll work?"

I looked at him. "You doubt me?"

"Slightly. You still need people to check you."

I shrugged and adjusted my shades and suit. "As true as that is, I'm sure it'll work fine. Did the guys get the elevator rigged?"

"Yup, and they double checked to make sure it was airtight."

"Good men. The limos should be back soon, I suggest you call Trascill and start arranging a time and place for a drop. Sometime tonight."

He nodded, but before he went, I said, "Hold on, I changed my mind. Find Nulos, tell her to do that, and then start working on hacking the college sites."

"Any particular reason?"

"Well, if a college chick drops out and disappears, how hard are people gonna search?"

He nodded and grinned maliciously. "You're evil."

I put a hand on my chest, mock surprise on my face. "Who, me?"

He laughed and went upstairs, and I heard the two limos pull in. I adjusted my suit again and muttered, Showtime."

Fifteen college chicks walked in, and Heris was good. They were a nice variety, and I said, "Welcome to the club!"

They looked around, confused, and one of them asked, "Uh…where is everything?"

I pointed up. "Third floor. We have to keep a low profile because the cops are cracking down on clubs. That's why it looks dingy on the outside."

Another one asked, "Why's there no music?"

"Soundproofed floors. If the cops busted in randomly, we'd tell them that only the first two floors are used. Also, only the elevator goes to the third floor, so chances are they'd want to do the search quickly and not bother with the elevator."

They all nodded, and I knew I hooked them. I gestured towards the elevator and said, "Have fun, girls."

They all cheered and went into the elevator, which was more than big enough to accommodate them. The doors slid shut, and I knew we had them. I radioed up to the third floor, "They're headed your way. Should be knocked out by then, and you know the drill. Bound, gagged, blindfolded, and completely nude so we can show off the goods. Work quickly." I turned the radio off and smiled, knowing that the knockout dispensers in the elevator had already activated and incapacitated all fifteen college virgins.

Nulos came down the stairs and said, "Trascill set a place. They have a shipyard on the eastern side of town."

"Did he say when?"

"He said he'd dispense people, but he encouraged that we be quick and arrive within the hour."

"Payment?"

"He said he'd have a courier deliver it upon confirmation of cargo."

I nodded. "Good. We have a few trucks in the garage, should suffice. Go upstairs and help tie the girls up, then help load them into the trucks."

She gave me a look. "You coming?"

"I'm a crime boss."

She frowned. "Bosses don't do grunt work. Should've figured…" She went to leave, and I chuckled. She turned to me and said, "What."

I turned towards her and said, "I'm not like other crime bosses. I like getting my hands dirty."

She smiled. "Good. Shall we?"

"We shall."

The two of us went upstairs to tie up some helpless virgins. Man, my job was fun.

**Timelapse**

I looked down at the fifteen girls. All were tied, gagged, blindfolded, and completely nude. I turned to the others and said, "Anyone else currently loving their job?"

They all cheered, and I said, "All right, now let's load these bitches so their cherries can get popped!"

The girls screamed in terror best they could, and I laughed, picking up two and carrying them over to a truck.

A few minutes later, they were all loaded in two trucks, and I got in the passenger seat of one. Heris came to the window and said, "Not a good idea. If they automatically know who you are, it might not turn out well."

I sighed, because he had a good point. I got out, and he took my place and said, "I'll make sure it goes smoothly."

"Remember: We have fifteen, so our profit's 150,000. Don't back down."

He patted his handgun and said, "I won't. Don't worry, silencer's attached."

I nodded and patted the side of truck, and they rolled off. I went back upstairs to my office, waiting for news.

I heard a knock, and I said, "Enter."

The door opened, and I saw Nulos walk in. "Hey, Nulos. Problem?"

She gestured towards a seat, and I said, "Yeah, you can sit if you want." She did, and I said, "Is there a problem?"

She shook her head, and I said, "Then what is it?"

She looked kinda nervous, and I said, "Nulos, what's wrong?"

She looked at me and said, "No, nothing's wrong, it's just…do you believe in love at first sight?"

I thought about that. "I believe that two people can become infatuated with each other at first sight, then it turns into some form of successful love. Does that answer your question?"

She looked even more nervous, somehow. "Can you love?"

"Me personally?" She nodded, and I sighed.

"Well…it might be possible, but I can't really be sure of anything in this business."

"What will happen to those girls?"

I looked at her. "Why?"

"Will they be killed?"

I shook my head vehemently. "No, no! Trascill doesn't make deals with killers. The worst thing that could happen is that they become sex slaves. I don't kill anyone if I don't have to. Unless it's part of a job."

"So…you kill only when you have to?"

"I have to if I want to survive."

"Do you want to live?"

I looked away, and the phone rang. I picked it up. "Milas."

"It's Heris."

"How'd the deal go?"

"Smooth as butter. 150,000 exactly, and Trascill's courier told me that Trascill sends his regards."

"Good. I love it when it goes smooth."

"You and me both. We'll be back at base in a few minutes."

"Got it. See you when you get back."

I hung up, and I said, "Deal went perfect."

She smiled. "Good."

Someone knocked on my door, and I turned to Nulos and whispered, "How many men did you find?"

"A few, but they went with the trucks to make sure it went well."

"So…we're the only ones here right now?"

She nodded, and I pulled my pistol out, silencer attached. "Open the door."

Nulos went over to it and grabbed the handle. She looked at me, I got on the other side of the door, and I nodded. She opened it, and a girl walked in. She looked to be about sixteen, and she was staring at the desk. "H-hello? I'm looking for Team Rocket's leader…"

I put my gun against her head and said, "You found him. Don't move."

She put her hands up, and I asked, "State your business and one good reason why I shouldn't kill you for snooping."

She took a shaky breath and said, "I…I wanted to confront you about a death."

"Go on."

"Team Rocket killed my parents, and I wanted revenge."

I gave her a look. "And exactly how were you planning on doing that?"

She didn't answer, and I cocked my pistol. "I'm still waiting for that reason."

She said softly, "I'm not going to make excuses…kill me now so I may join my parents."

I sighed. "Nulos, grab her."

Nulos grabbed the girl tightly, and she said, "Why are you not killing me?!"

I looked at her. "Because I don't kill women unless I have to, and even then only under extreme circumstances. No…your fate will be in the prison hold." I looked at Nulos. "Fifth floor. You have permission to use force to subdue her if necessary."

The girl said, "I'd rather you take me…"

I shrugged. "Fine. Nulos, talk to Heris when he gets here if I'm not done. Tell him I'm otherwise occupied if he asks."

She nodded and let go of the girl. The girl looked at me and said, "What's to keep me from attacking you?"

"Bullet through a non-fatal area. I won't kill you, just injure. Walk."

She started walking towards the elevator, and I said, "No, stairs. Elevator's too confined…"

She started up the stairs, me behind her, which gave me a nice view of her ass, which was very nice, trust me.

We got to the fifth floor and I gestured towards a cell. "In."

She went in and I followed her in. "Here are the rules. You don't make trouble, you don't get punished. Simple. You can't really make trouble with how you're gonna be, anyways…"

She shot me a look. "What do you mean?"

I pulled some items from my pocket, and she gasped. "No, please! I'll be good, I promise!"

"I know you will, which is why you're gonna do exactly as I say." She looked down and nodded meekly.

**Small Timelapse**

I got up and dusted myself off. I was pretty proud of myself.

Simply put, her fate was the same as the other girls: bound, gagged, blindfolded, and nude. I took her belongings, too, figuring I could donate them to the undercover area. I gave her boobs a rough squeeze and said, "Enjoy your stay! If you're lucky, we won't sell you!"

She screamed through her gag, and I laughed, shutting the cell door behind me.

I went down to my office, and Heris and Nulos were there. Heris asked, "What were you doing?"

"We had a snoop. Threw her in one of the cells."

"What's with the stuff?"

"Well, I figured she wasn't gonna need them anymore."

Nulos looked at the pile and said, "Her clothes are there, too. All of them."

"Yeah. She's bound, gagged, blindfolded, and nude. Problem?"

They both shook their heads, although I thought I saw Nulos blush a little. "Good. I'll wire the money to my sponsor tomorrow because, quite frankly, I'm getting tired."

We went to our rooms, and I was just about to go to sleep when I heard, "Milas?"

I sat up in bed and saw Nulos. "Yeah?"

"Got a minute?"

I nodded, and she sat next to me. "What's up, Nulos?"

"Well…"


	5. Chapter 5

She said that one word, but then she grew quiet. I said, "Nulos, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You sure?" I nodded, and she asked, "Then give me your guns."

I handed her a pistol from under my pillow, and she gave me a look. I reached under the sheets next to me and pulled out a rifle. She still had the look, and I knocked on the headboard, popping it open to reveal about five or six guns. "Happy?"

"Dude. You paranoid?"

"No, just really, really cautious. Now will you talk to me?"

She still looked nervous, and I said, "Look, I may have just sold fifteen college virgins for their cherries to be popped-possibly violently-but I will not harm my allies unless absolutely necessary. I can lend an ear to problems sometimes, so…what's up?"

She gave me and odd look and asked, "Do you try to exude power, or does it just come naturally?"

I shrugged. "Little bit of both. Giovanni said that power is an odd thing to be taken as best as can be done."

"Wise man."

"Yeah, he was…until that stupid Trainer beat him…Giovanni should've known that someone would've beat him eventually with his position as Gym Leader!"

She shrugged and said, "No one's perfect."

I sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Giovanni was good, but…anyways, we got off track. Was the power thing really what you wanted to ask?"

"Well…" She looked away again, and I said, "Nulos, why are you having so much trouble with this?"

She looked at me again. "It's hard to find the right words sometimes, y'know?"

I nodded and said, "Well, maybe I can help. What's the general topic?"

"You."

"Okay, what about me?"

She looked me over. "Your attitude, your physique, your…everything. It's just so…great."

I gave her a look. "Nulos…are you trying to say that you like me?"

She nodded, and I said, "In a romantic way?"

Nothing happened for a minute. Then…"Yeah."

I nodded, taking this in. I had thought she had liked me, but I hadn't known if it was romantic. "How long?"

"Soon after I met you. You just…swept me off my feet."

I smiled. "I have that talent." I kissed her cheek and said, "If it means anything…I like you, too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to sleep."

She nodded, blushing, and said, "All right. Hey, so what are we doing with that prisoner?"

That was a good question. "Well, we keep her here until we acquire a decent collection of girls, then we sell her."

"All right. So…did you say she was bound, gagged, blindfolded, and naked?"

"I did. Why?"

I swear, she was blushing even more. "Because…that sounds kinda fun." She rushed out of the room before I could say anything. I smiled and went to sleep, thinking about all the fun I could have with her.

**The Next Day**

I awoke with a gun muzzle to my head. Shit…"Milas, your sponsor wants his money. He heard that you acquired the necessary funds yesterday. Why doesn't he have them?"

"Because by the time the sale was made, it was late, and I was tired. It was a lapse in judgment on my part. If you'll refrain from blowing my brains out, I'll wire him the funds now."

"Not necessary. I took his cut and sent him a message from your computer."

I opened my eyes and looked at the intruder, clad entirely in black. "How do I know you're even with my sponsor?"

"Your sponsor wanted 50,000 Poke within a week of your arrival. He'll send men and women to you to aid you in your revival of Team Rocket."

I sat up slowly and said, "That works. Tell him it was nice doing business with him."

The intruder put his gun away and said, "Also, I'm taking the rest."

My hand slowly went under my pillow and grabbed the pistol. "Why?"

"The sponsor is going to set up an account in the Sevii Islands for you. Untraceable."

My grip relaxed. "How long will that take?"

"It'll be done within the day."

I nodded. "Thank you for your service."

"No problem. I'll take my leave now." He went out towards my office, and from the lack of scream, either he had KO'd the guards or there wasn't anyone there. I got up and went into my office, proving the former. I smiled. My sponsor was doing one last favor for me.

I got dressed in my typical suit and went upstairs to the prison block. I nodded at the guard, and he opened up the cell with the girl in it. I walked in, squeezed her breasts tightly, and said, "Rise and shine, sweetcheeks!"

She squealed, and I laughed. I took her gag off and asked, "What's your name, anyways?"

She spoke softly. "Janeis…"

"Janeis…pretty name." I turned to the guard and said, "Give her food and water, then gag her again. If she resists, pinch her nose until you can gag her, then punish her however you deem appropriate. Not too badly, though. We may want to sell her." I walked out of the cell, and he nodded as I passed.

I went back down to my office and sat behind my desk. I examined my desk and noticed a note. I picked it up, and it read, 'Milas, you are officially on your own. Do not come to me too much. You may once in a while, but not often, and there will be a price. Good luck.'

I smiled again. Pretty good morning so far…

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Heris walked in, and I said, "Ah, good morning, Heris. Any news?"

"No, except…there's someone here. They say they're part of Team Rocket."

I cocked my head. "Did they give a name?"

"Yeah, and that was all we got from him. Proton."

Rage filled me, and I pulled out my pistol and went downstairs. I got there, and sure enough, the blue-haired prick was there. I went straight up to him and punched him in the face. "Coward!"

He touched his face gingerly. "I would've thought you'd be happy to see me…"

"Not after what happened in Goldenrod! After you FLED!"

"I didn't have much of a choice! Archer disbanded Team Rocket, and I figured we were done for!"

"You had me!"

"Yeah, a fifteen-year-old leading Team Rocket. Would've been great."

"I had more balls than any of you! I was the only one that kept trying! And what did you do? You FLED!"

He looked away, and I continued, "Which means you better not screw up this time."

He looked at me and said, "You'll take me in?"

"Yeah. Petrel too, if he wants to. But I expect the very best from both of you."

A grunt morphed into Petrel, and they both said, "We won't disappoint you!"

"You take orders from me, Nulos, and Heris. Got it?"

They nodded, and Petrel said, "I have something to suggest."

I looked at him, and he said, "Mauville has several banks. Proton and I have a few ideas about how to break in, if you wanna hear…"

I nodded. "Fourth floor's my office. Let's go plan a heist!"


	6. Chapter 6

I opened the door, and Proton and Petrel walked into my office. I walked in and closed the door. "Guys, this is Nulos-" I gestured, "-and this is Heris," I gestured. "Nulos, Heris, this is Proton and Petrel, former executives of Rocket."

They shook hands, and Petrel said, "Nice to meetcha. Milas here says that we take orders from him and you guys." He looked them over. "I can see this working out well…"

Proton looked a little miffed, and I moved on. "Proton, Petrel, you mentioned something about a heist."

Proton nodded, and Petrel asked, "Can I use your desk?"

I nodded and sat behind it, the others gathering around it. Petrel began, "Well, this here city has several banks, but there's a facility in the center of town that, every few weeks, takes all the money from those banks and counts it, to make sure there's not too much or too little."

I nodded. "Go on."

Proton took it from there, "On average, the facility has about 3 million Poke every time they check. But we know it's gonna be more."

I looked at him. "How do you know this?"

He smiled. "Because the Game Corner's business is booming."

Silence for a few minutes, then Heris asked, "What does that have to do with it?"

Petrel said, "Well, the facility's manager and the Game Corner's owner are the same person. Since business has been booming, he's put all the profit into the bank system." He and Proton gave me a minute to process it.

It clicked. "Exactly how much profit has the Game Corner had in the last few weeks?"

Proton and Petrel looked at each other, then back at me, beaming, and they said at the same time, "15 million."

My eyes widened behind my shades, and Proton said, "That, along with the day-to-day business of the normal people, makes a profit of 25 million. If this job succeeds."

I looked at Proton, then at Petrel. "You got a plan?"

They nodded, and Petrel pulled out a blueprint. "Using a clever engineer disguise, I took this from the city plans." He unrolled in on the desk, and I took in the building. "The facility, even though that method is old, has a safe-with all the money-in the basement. However, even the slightest alarm will trigger a lockdown."

I nodded. "So we can't get caught at all. What else?"

Proton pointed at the door. "Simple glass, but about twenty armed security guards on duty at all times. At least."

"We don't kill them if we can help it. Tranquilizer guns'll do."

They looked at me incredulously. "Since when do you spare life?"

I sighed. "If we have to kill them, we kill them. Simple as that. Now, what else?"

Petrel looked at the blueprint. "Fingerprint scans, lasers, steel door twenty feet thick…and that's if we get in at all."

I nodded. "Anything else we should know?"

They shook their heads, and Proton said, "We have a guy monitoring the place in case anything changes."

"Good. You got a plan?"

Petrel shook his head. "Well, no. That's why we came to you."

I nodded slowly. "Very well."

Before I could go on, though, my desk phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Milas."

"It's your former sponsor. Your reinforcements should be arriving within the hour."

"Thank you. And the money?"

"Successfully in an account in the Sevii Islands. Untraceable."

"Good. Anything else I should know?"

"Nothing I think is relevant. Pleasure doing business with you."

"Same." I hung up and said, "Sorry, sponsor just wanted to update me."

Petrel asked, "Sponsor?"

"He helped kickstart this. I owe him for this. Well, technically not since I paid him…"

"How much did you pay him?"

"Fifty thousand."

"How'd you manage that?"

"College virgins."

"Ah." He and Proton nodded in understanding. Then Petrel asked, "You have any ideas?"

"Hm…" I thought a moment, then "Does it require a voice scan?"

"The vault? No, just fingerprint, really. For some odd reason…"

I started to chuckle, then I started to laugh. They looked at me like I was nuts, and I said through my laughing, "You can just disguise yourself as him and withdraw all 25 million!"

All their eyes widened, and they all started chuckling. Petrel said, "How did I-oh, yeah. I can't copy fingerprints!"

I shook my head. "You won't need it. Use the disguise and make a video-call saying that you need to withdraw all 25 million for an urgent emergency."

Petrel looked at me. "Wow…I can't believe it's that easy…"

"It's not. The signal still needs to originate from in that building, so we'll have to infiltrate it."

He nodded, and my phone started to ring. I saw it was from the lobby and set it to speaker. "Milas."

"Boss, we got a lot of people here. About fifty to sixty. They say they're from a sponsor."

"Do they have anything for me?"

"Yeah, clipboard. Should I send them up?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I'll come down." I hung up and said to the others, "I'm gonna head downstairs real quick. You figure out the details of infiltrating the building." I left them to their plotting.

I arrived at the ground floor and saw the group of people. "Welcome, everyone! I'm Milas. Where's that clipboard?" One of them gave me it, and I looked it over. Names and their area of specialty. Nice variety…"All right. Hackers and builders, second floor. Hackers, get used to the computers, builders, start working on R&D. Any gunners, armory's the third floor. Find a gun you find comfortable if you don't have one already. Third floor's also undercover for any espionage specialists. Any questions?"

One of them raised a hand, I pointed at them, and they said, "How old are you?"

I sighed silently. "All right, we'll get this out of the way now. I am sixteen years old, and if you have problems with taking orders from a teenager, leave now." My instinct had also finished, so between those two-whoa, my sponsor was good. No problems. All of them could stay.

No one left, and I said, "Barracks are fourth floor. Go and explore your niche." They all went to explore, and I smiled. So many new faces…this was gonna be nice.

I went back up to my office, and the others were still there. Petrel said, "We got it. We get someone to go in as an IT guy and have them connect one of their computers to one of ours."

I nodded. "Sounds solid. Find a spy and a nerd to help you. Tell them you're Executives and also give orders."

Their faces lit up, and I said, "Which can be quickly rescinded if it's necessary. Don't screw up."

They nodded and left. I sat in my chair, and Heris said, "You trust them?"

I nodded. "I may not like them a ton, but they get the job done."

Nulos asked, "If they have that covered, then what do we do?"

I smiled. "We get the afternoon off. Unless something comes up."

They both smiled, and it was then that I noticed the bags under their eyes. "Guys, I wouldn't think you'd be this tired."

Heris said, "I was up late thinking about stuff."

Nulos said, "Same here." I saw her blush slightly, but I dismissed.

I stood up and said, "Get some sleep. You deserve it."

They nodded, and the three of us went into our rooms, where I changed into sleepwear and climbed into bed. Before I fell asleep, though, Nulos came in wearing a nightgown, even though it technically wasn't night. I sat up and said, "Hey Nulos, what's up?"

She sat next to me and said, "I've been thinking about our conversation last night."

"What about it?"

She looked at me with her brown eyes, searching inquisitively. "Do you really like me?"

"Yes."

"As a friend, or…as more?"

"Yes."

She looked at me and asked, "What?"

"You're not the only one that had feelings develop quickly."

She smiled shyly. "So…you like me romantically?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I think I do."

She grinned mischievously and stood, messing with her nightgown sash. "You remember what I said last night when I asked about the prisoner?"

"Yeah, I mentioned her condition, and you said something about it being fun, which is still confusing me a bit. What sounds fun?"

She looked down, blushing like crazy. She spoke so softly that I didn't hear what she said. "Say again?"

Heris quickly walked in, put a box down, and walked out, making sure not to make eye contact with either of us. I looked at his retreat, then back a Nulos. "What'd you say? I didn't hear…"

She spoke a little louder, still soft, but I heard it now. "Being tied up."

I was slightly taken aback by that. "What…"

She looked at me, face still red. "Something about rope encircling me in such a way that I'm completely at someone's mercy…turns me on."

I chuckled nervously, and I could feel my face getting hotter. "Really? That's…interesting…"

I would've said more, but Nulos finally got her nightgown sash done, and she let it fall, revealing her naked self. I looked her over and my eyes rested on her breasts, and she got closer to me, her breasts bouncing a little. I forced myself to focus on her face, and she chuckled. "I don't mind. You like?"

She took hold of her breasts and began squeezing them a little. I felt my face get hotter, and she chuckled again. "Have you never been physical with someone?"

I shook my head. "Not quite like this."

She smiled. "Well, I'm proud to be your first. And that box Heris brought in?"

I nodded, and she whispered into my ear, "Supplies."

I got up from the bed and looked in the box, and she was right. Rope, gags, blindfolds…all sorts of stuff. Kinky…I turned back to her, and she was sitting in the center of my bed in a…revealing way.

I took a shaky breath, and she said, "I'm all yours. Have fun."


	7. Chapter 7

I did nothing, and she smiled at me seductively. "I thought you would like this…" She got up from the bed and walked towards me slowly, swaying her hips seductively. She got to me and ran a finger down my chest. She whispered in my ear, "Remember: I'm all yours…"

There was a knock on the door, and I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed. "Who is it?"

"It's Petrel. We have an update for you."

"On my way." I went to the door, but before I left, I looked at Nulos, who was pouting a little. Oh, what the hell…"There's such a thing as tying oneself up, correct?"

She nodded, and I said, "Do as much as you can, and I should be in quickly." She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. I walked out and closed the door, looking at Petrel. "What do you have?"

"We have feed inside the building. On your computer if you wanna see."

I nodded and sat behind my desk. I examined the feed, which was two people near a computer, one examining it and the other typing on it. I looked at Petrel. "How'd you get them in so fast?"

"Had a hacker here mess with one of their computers so they'd need IT."

I nodded. "You're doing well. What's Proton doing?"

"You're looking at it. He's the one pretending to examine it."

I looked closer and recognized the blue hair. "Risky…he could be recognized."

"Rocket died over a year ago. No one's gonna think it was us."

The typer flashed a thumbs-up towards the camera, and Petrel said, "Okay, he's in. All I have to do now is make the call from your computer from that one, and we're 25 million richer."

The two on the feed got up and started to walk out, and I said, "Get Proton to check in once they're out of the building. Wanna make sure he didn't get caught…"

The radio crackled to life shortly later. "It's Proton. Success. You're up, Petrel. Once you make the call, the system'll crash just after the cash is wired."

I got on the radio. "Good work, Proton."

"Milas…we're sorry for running."

I sighed. "Proton, you and Petrel had a moment of weakness. You've come back, so I'll forgive it. Just this once." I hung up the radio and said to Petrel, "Make the call."

I got up and walked towards my room, and he said, "Are you gonna watch?"

I shook my head. "I've seen your disguise skills, you've got this covered. I've got something else to take care of."

He nodded, and I began to open the door as quietly as I could so as not to disturb Nulos. I got in the room and saw she had gotten pretty far along. Her legs were tied in several places, and I could see some sort of ropework around her breasts and another set going between her legs. She was also blindfolded, which made her arms the only thing not tied. And also the lack of gag…we would have to change that.

Slowly, I picked up a ball-like gag which had a kind of rubber feel to it. I grabbed Nulos and shoved the gag into her mouth, buckling it quickly. She squealed, and I grabbed some nearby rope and quickly tied her arms. I stepped back to observe the work, and I had to admit, she was pretty damn hot. She kept writhing in her ropes, and I couldn't tell if it was from pleasure or trying to escape. I smiled and sat next to her, squeezing her breasts tightly. "Is this what you had in mind?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and on impulse I kissed her gagged lips. She stopped squirming and focused on the kiss, and I decided to pity her. I took out the ball gag and kissed her again, and she went all into it. She broke it and said, "Please…take me, take me all, Milas…"

I chuckled. "But we have to pace ourselves, my dear."

She began to protest, but I merely gagged her and gave her a playful spank. She squealed again, and I said, "Y'know, I could get used to this…you, naked and tied up, completely at my mercy…seems nice!"

I went over to the box and looked for any other goodies she had thrown in. Ooh, definitely several for later, but for now…just this. I turned to her and said, "The rope between your legs is a nice touch." I pulled it, and she moaned in pleasure. I squeezed her breasts and began to massage them, making her moan even more. I smiled, enjoying my little slave a lot. Out of pure mischief, I went down to her feet and started to tickle them. She started squealing in laughter, and when I thought it was enough, I stopped to let her catch her breath. I took her blindfold and gag off and asked, "How you doing?"

She looked at me, face flushed red as she continued to breathe heavily. "I don't know whether to hate you or not right now…"

"Nulos, you are naked and tied up in front of me. I don't think it's in your best interests to hate me."

She nodded and asked, "Do…do you like this?"

I nodded and said, "More than I thought I would."

She blushed and said, "If you wanna keep me like this a little bit longer, you can. I'm okay with it."

I smiled and lied down on the bed next to her. "You don't mind if I nap, do you?"

I could tell she was about to protest, so I gagged and blindfolded her again. "Didn't think so. Night!"

I fell asleep as she writhed in pleasure. Man, life was good…

**To whom it may concern: Next chapter will be more organization geared, don't worry.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Solaris is not mine, she is the creation of Green Rune. Credit where credit is due.**

As I left my office, Nulos asked, "What's the problem?"

I growled, "The problem? The problem?! Solaris is the problem!"

She gave me an odd look, and I explained, "She's Giovanni's kid…she's back in town. Lousy bitch…when I get down there, she's dead."

I walked down the stairs and into the lobby. Oh, quick update, the job was successful, all 25 million. Now this new problem…

I walked straight up to the woman standing in the center of the room and pulled my pistol out, putting it right against her head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now."

She looked at me with those piercing green eyes and said in that all-too-familiar bluntness, "Because you don't kill women unless the situation absolutely requires it. Gentleman…"

I glared at her, but put the gun away. "So what brings you all the way to Mauville? Last I heard you were living in luxury underground."

She glared at me, obviously pissed, and spat, "To make sure you weren't the third failure."

"I'm fine, thanks. So why don't you just get gone, bitch?"

She glared at me, but quite frankly, I most likely had said worse. "Because you need me." She held up a computer chip. "And you need this."

I looked at the chip. "Now…are you doing this for you or for your father?"

Her glare got even darker somehow, and she growled, "You want this chip or not?"

I looked at the chip, and I did want it. It was one of the most sophisticated chips ever built, if not the most, and it would go a long way in our organization. "Is this a peace offering?"

She kept glaring at me, and I figured it wasn't. "Look, I break promises all the time. You can break-oh, yeah. Your oh-so-dear father is very persuasive."

She screamed, "Do you want to die, you bastard?! Because I can arrange that!"

"Really. You, kill me? You and what army?!"

She recoiled slightly, and I pressed my advantage. "I'm the one who's actually trying to revive Team Rocket, so if you want to work for me, that's fine. You get absolutely no special treatment."

She glared at me, but she handed me the chip. I looked it over and told a nearby grunt, "Get this hooked into the system." He nodded and went upstairs. I turned back to Solaris and asked, "You gonna stay?"

She nodded, still pissed, and I muttered, "Upstairs is barracks. Get comfy." She shot me another glare and went upstairs. I watched her go up and sighed. That damn call…she was brilliant, don't get me wrong, but…I got the very strong feeling that she would do her best to take this from me. She couldn't…Giovanni gave this to me and me alone. My organization to run. I went upstairs to my office.

I opened the door and saw my staff there. "Guys, hey. Proton, Petrel…she's back."

Petrel blanched, and Proton asked, "Who?"

"Sol."

He swore and almost shouted, "I thought we were done with her!"

I gave him an odd look. "I thought you and she were close buds."

He gave me a dark look. "Not anymore, she's not. She's fallen out of favor."

I nodded and said, "Oh, by the way, you and Petrel are now admins. Nulos and Heris are Executives now. Have to prioritize."

Proton and Petrel looked a little bummed, but they nodded in understanding, figuring any argument would get them fired. Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Solaris walked in, and I turned to her. "Thanks for the chip."

She said through gritted teeth, "Anything for Rocket." She focused on Petrel. "Good to see you haven't changed, laughing boy."

He blanched more and hid behind Proton. She focused on Proton and muttered, "Your hair gave you away in the paper, dumbass."

He gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? No one knew I was part of that."

"Newspaper in Slateport caught you."

He made no outward signs, but I could tell he was pissed for having been made. She chuckled and said, "Same old Proton." She looked at Nulos and Proton. "So these are your new people. Don't look all that great…"

I kept my emotions down best I could. "They're good people. Don't judge them badly."

She looked at me haughtily. "I'm Giovanni's daughter. I can do what I want."

"Not in my organization you can't. You're only an admin, so you better watch yourself."

The others looked between us like a tennis match, and she spat, "I didn't have to come back!"

"The hell you didn't! You promised Giovanni! And Arceus knows you can't obey him even though he's GONE!"

She tackled me and started punching me. "My father would be proud of me! Better than you!"

I threw her off and screamed, "I'm trying to revive Team Rocket! I'm pretty sure he would be proud of that!"

"He got defeated by a kid and quit! What's to say you won't follow in his footsteps?!"

My turn to tackle and punch. "I'm not weak like he was! I'm above all of that!"

She landed another blow. "Do not disrespect my father!"

I threw her across the room. "I can do what I want! Your father, in case you didn't notice, isn't here! He's gone, and you wanna know why? Because he was WEAK!"

She turned to me, tears and fire in her eyes. She charged at me again, screaming, "LIES!"

I sidestepped her easily, and she charged again, "Sol, he's gone! You have no reason to be here!"

She swung, but I easily dodged. "Milas, you wouldn't understand! You're not his kid!"

"And good thing, too! I never had to be locked in my room! I wasn't an illegitimate child!"

I heard a collective gasp from the others, and Sol cried out, "You can't possibly bring Team Rocket back! Giovanni himself tried and failed!"

I grabbed her arms and looked straight into her eyes. "Solaris, the man was weak! You must realize-" Then it hit me. "You do realize it." I let her go. "You're trying to keep whatever's left of his legacy and dignity."

She looked away, and I said, "You made a promise…I suppose that's strong…"

I turned away. "We're done for the day, everyone. Duties resume tomorrow." They all dispersed, and I went into my room and changed into sleepwear. I climbed into bed and thought about Solaris. She really didn't like Rocket, it seemed, but…she was still here. For better or worse, I had to get used to that particular fact. I rolled over and went to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

I smirked, pretty much dragging Solaris to my office. See, she had been checking out a museum to hit, and I was forcing her to tell her plan to the others, knowing that it would piss her off greatly.

I burst into my office, the others looking up at me sharply as I entered. I threw Solaris in front of me and said, "Go ahead, tell them your plan."

She turned to me, and spat with venom, "It's a one person job."

"Don't care. You _will _involve the others, or you're out of a job."

"Did you forget that I can destroy your entire organization? Very easily, too…"

I looked away, and that stupid grin started to work its way onto her face. "I can do what I want, and there ain't nothing you can do to stop me."

I didn't meet her gaze, and she said, "Why do you even bother trying? We're both Generals, we have the same amount of power."

I turned on her with surprising force. "Not anymore, we don't! I kept this thing going, and all you care about is power!"

She shrugged, not denying it, and something in me snapped. "You know what? Do what you want…I don't care anymore." I went into my room and slammed the door. I sat on the bed and put my face in my hands, someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Solaris walked in, and I muttered, "What do you want. I doubt you have concerns…"

"Do you not care about Rocket anymore?"

I turned away. "Of course I care about Rocket, I just don't care about you. It's obvious you're the exact same since back then, and it was impossible to work with you then, and it still is now. So do what you want."

She gave me an odd look. "Milas…you never would let this happen. What happened in that time period between Archer and now?"

I looked at her sharply. "Get out. You can do what you want, I don't care anymore. Just what you wanted. You can probably make the morning museum shift."

She was about to speak, but I shouted, "I said get out! I don't give a damn about you now! You have what you wanted, now GET OUT!" I shoved her and slammed the door, taking a deep breath. I don't know what came over me, but…I knew I was being truthful. I simply didn't care about her anymore, especially not her legacy preservation crap. Someone knocked, and I asked, "Who is it?"

"Proton."

I opened the door. "What."

He immediately looked away. "Um…what'd you say to Solaris? She walked out looking slightly happy…figured something happened."

"Keep your nose out of it."

He nodded quickly. "Also…we found Ariana."

I gave him a sharp look. "Where?"

"Wandering the regions. She's paid her debt-so she says-and is now traveling the world trying to find purpose. Want us to bring her in?"

"Why would we want that weakling?"

"Petrel and I apparently are weaklings, too, and you took us in."

I sighed. Good point…"Fine, bring her in. How soon will she get here?"

"Uh…I took the liberty of making contact already, so…in the next few minutes."

"She's in Mauville?"

"She is now."

I rubbed my temples. "When exactly did you make contact?"

"As soon as you accepted me and Petrel."

I looked at him. "…Fine. I'm gonna head down to the lobby, then." I got up and walked down the stairs.

I got to the lobby and saw a woman with red hair standing in the middle of the lobby. "Ariana!"

She turned to me, and her face somewhat lit up. "Milas?! You're in charge?! Proton didn't mention that…how've you been?"

I glared at her, and she withered. "You weakling! You fled the Radio Tower! How could you?!"

She looked away, and I spat, "I'm gonna make one thing absolutely clear. You screw up once, you're done." She nodded and said, "I know where Archer is, if you-"

I slapped her hard. "Never mention him again! He is the biggest weakling of all of you! Do I make myself clear?"

She gingerly touched her face and muttered, "He could help…Archer could-"

I slapped her again. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?!

She gave me a look, then she nodded. "Good. Barracks are fourth floor, get comfy. Also…Solaris is here now."

She grimaced. "Great…" She went upstairs, and I sighed. This was getting damn complicated…

Solaris walked in, and I asked, "Anything productive?"

She glanced at me and said, "Got keys. I can go in later and take the gems and art easily."

"Fine. Do it." I walked up, leaving her slightly confused, so I thought. Couldn't be sure…

I got to my office, and Petrel asked, "What happened?"

"Ariana's here now."

He nodded. "Will Archer-"

I slapped him. Damn, my hand was getting red…"You never mention his name again. Never. Got it?"

He nodded, rubbing his face tenderly. "What's your-oh, yeah. I suppose that would be it…"

I sighed and went to my room, but Petrel said, "You got a message."

I turned to him. "Who from?"

"Some guy named…oh, crap, what was his name? Something girly, like Trilly, Trissy…maybe a T-A something…"

I got a little colder. "Tabitha?"

He nodded. "Yeah, him. Dressed in red, he left an envelope on the receptionist's desk."

"What'd it say?"

He handed me the note, and I read, 'To Whom It May Concern, Magma and Aqua are not dead. Merely underground, similar to you. This could go one of two ways: cooperation between us…or war. Pick wisely. –Maxie'

Son of a bitch…"Did Tabitha say where he was going?"

Petrel shook his head. "No, just that he'd come back later for the answer. Should we worry?"

"That's a good question. A very good question…"


	10. Chapter 10

I sat behind my desk, my mind a whirlwind of what had been going on recently. Me not caring about Solaris, Ariana joining…perhaps the biggest thing was Magma and Aqua. My phone rang, and I put it one speaker. "Milas."

"There's a man here, dressed in a red suit. Calls himself Maxie."

"Who's with him?"

"Two other people. A guy named Tabitha and a woman named Courtney."

"Send them up to my office."

I hung up the phone and waited. A few minutes later, someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

The door opened, and the three of them walked in. Maxie had red hair going to about his shoulders, and on his red suit was the Magma crest, small enough that it wouldn't draw the eye too much. The man on his right, Tabitha looked kinda chubby, but still fearful, somehow. On Maxie's other side, Courtney looked kinda bored and said, "Why are we here?"

Tabitha growled, "Shut up! Let Boss talk!"

Maxie glanced at Tabitha. "Thank you." He turned back to me and said, "So…you're the new leader of Team Rocket."

I nodded, and he said, "I only wish cooperation between our two organizations. Is this also what you wish?"

I pressed a button on my desk, and another door opened, revealing Aqua Leader Archie and his two admins, Shelley and Matt.

Maxie looked at them, then at me in shock. "You would bring them here?! You know our backstory!"

I nodded. "You saw the error of your ways." Archie and his group came over, and I continued, "So why are you two still here?"

They looked at each other, then back at me. Maxie said, "Well…Magma still needs a leader."

Archie chipped in, "So does Aqua."

I nodded. "Makes sense. So…what exactly are you two up to now?"

Silence, which I assumed meant questionable dealings. I stood and said in a firm tone, "I'm gonna say this once. You all work for me now. If you disagree, I have a bullet with your name on it, and you will be thrown into the river."

Maxie and Archie said at the same time, "Why?"

"Because I'm the only one in this room that knows just what the hell they're doing. Yes, you can lead your organizations, but you report to me from now on. Got it?"

Man, did they all look pissed. Archie and Maxie nodded, and I said, "Good. Now get."

They all left, and I sat. That's one way to boost employment…

"Sir?"

I looked up from my papers at my receptionist. "Yes?"

"There's a woman here for you."

"Send her in."

She nodded, and a blond woman walked in. I looked at her curls and said, "Domino."

She smiled. "You still remember me! How kind of you…"

"You're hard to forget. Still have that flower?"

She pulled out her black tulip and spun it into a staff. "As always. You know why I'm here?"

"You wanna join the new Rocket."

"Yeah. I heard you were reviving it, so I figure I'd help if I could. Who's here already?"

"Proton, Petrel, Ariana…and Solaris."

Her face darkened slightly at that last name. "When'd she get here?"

"Yesterday. Just walked right in. How I wish she didn't…"

"She giving you trouble?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it…my problem, not yours."

The door opened suddenly, revealing Solaris. She looked at Domino and glared at me. "I got the gems and art."

"Fine. You have Trascill's number, give him a ring. Also, we have a female prisoner who he might be interested in."

"Fine." She left, and Domino stood awkwardly for a second before saying, "Um…she hasn't changed."

"Not at all."

"That why you're so pissed?"

"I'm not pissed, just…okay, yeah, I'm pissed."

She sighed. "You know as well as I do that she's been through tough times."

I glared at her. "Keria's dead. I know that better than anyone."

She looked away, and I muttered, "Barracks are on this floor. Go get comfy."

She left without another word. I leaned back in my chair, still fuming. How could Domino think I didn't know that?! She knew about Keria…she didn't have to rub it in.

Solaris walked in again and said, "Got a buy. I'll head out later to sell the stuff, plus your prisoner." She went to leave, but I said, "Wait."

She stopped and turned, coming into the room and closing the door behind her. "I'm not sure which is more alarming; you caring or me actually listening to you. What is it?"

I sighed. "Why are you here at Rocket?"

"Because I promised Giovanni I'd come back if it was revived. You know this."

I nodded. "Y'know…it seems like you almost never do something for yourself. You've always done it for Rocket, or an Executive, pretty much anyone but yourself."

"Your point?"

I stood angrily. "If you're gonna be part of this organization, you better be part of it for the right reasons! I know you could care less about your father, but I want you to answer two very important questions! Who are you?! And what do you want?!"

Her mask stayed, but I saw in her eyes that I had gotten to her somewhat. She turned away and muttered, "The sale's within the hour. I better get going…" She left, closing the door behind her. I leaned back in my chair again, wondering if Solaris would actually be able to change…hopefully for the better.

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Nulos walked in and closed the door. "Hey, Nulos. What's up?"

"Nothing, just checking in." She came over to me and gave me a kiss. Something hit me, and I broke the kiss and said, "Wanna go out tonight?"

She looked at me. "Like a date?"

"Sure. I can believe in love at first sight like any other guy, but I should show you me, and vice versa."

She kept looking at me, then smiled and nodded. "I would love to."

"There's this great restaurant nearby. Kinda pricey, but I figured that we had money." We both chuckled. "So…we'll leave around eight?"

She nodded, and I said, "See you then."

She nodded and walked out. Then it hit me. "We really gotta find a job…"

Someone knocked. Busy day…"Enter."

Domino walked in again. "You needed a job?"

"How long were you at the door?"

"A minute or so."

I sighed. "You have to break that habit. God forbid you do that to Solaris."

"Hey, speaking of her, I passed her, and her mask was a little slipped. What'd you do?"

"I told her to ask herself who she was and what she wanted."

"Good questions. Anyways, the job…"

"Yeah, where is it?"

"Well…kinda far."

"Domino, if we're gonna take over the world, nothing is too far. Where is it?"

"Mossdeep."

"You're right, that is far. Should I call the others?"

"Yeah, probably. This is gonna be a big job."

"What makes you say that?"

She smirked. "Because we're gonna steal a rocket."


	11. Chapter 11

"A rocket for Team Rocket. How original. I'll call the others in."

Everyone arrived within a minute or so, and Heris looked around and asked, "Where's Solaris?"

"She's off selling some gems and art. Also our prisoner. Anyways, Domino, you have the floor."

She nodded at me. "Thanks." She turned to the others. "Mossdeep City is currently the only city in the region with a functioning rocket silo."

They nodded, and Petrel interrupted, "Yeah, we know. What, are we gonna steal a rocket?"

She nodded, and he looked at her like she was nuts. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. I have a plan, too."

He was subdued into shocked silence, and she went on, "Anyways, the Mossdeep Silo has a variety of rockets, not just for space. I'm talking nuclear."

Silence. Then I muttered, "Nuclear." She nodded, and I said, "What exactly are we gonna do with a nuclear rocket?"

She shrugged. "Blackmail. Sell it. I dunno."

"What exactly would this plan be?"

She grimaced. "I don't have all the details worked out yet…but I know which rocket we should take."

"Domino, if we don't have a plan, we can't take the rocket. Simple as that. Not even Solaris could take it."

"You sure about that?"

She was standing at the door, and I swore silently. "Sometimes I don't know who's quieter, you or me. Anyways, this is a Rocket heist on Mossdeep. Don't think you'd be interested."

She gave me a cold look, and I wondered if I had said something, but before I could ask, she walked out. Domino looked at me and asked, "Was that weird or is it just me?"

We all nodded, and Proton said, "Yeah, that was weird. Should we-"

I interjected. "I will. Domino, tell the others your plan. If they tell me it's good, we'll do it." I got up and let the room, going into the barracks.

The barracks were furnished with several bunk beds and a table in the back for card games and the like. Solaris was sitting on her bunk near the back, and I walked over to her. Before I spoke, though, I saw what she was holding.

A photo. Of Giovanni. Her father, which she disowned and pretty much hated.

I looked at her face, and I saw her mask was gone. She had so many emotions mixing, though, that I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I said gently, "Sol?"

She kept looking at the photo, and I asked, "Sol, you're worrying the others. You're not like this."

"Milas, why do you care?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know, but I do."

She looked at me. "You really want me to figure out what I want."

A statement, not a question. "Yeah, I do. If you're gonna be part of this organization, I want it to be for the right reasons."

"And what are those?"

"Wanting to do it for you, not for anyone else. Especially not him."

She looked back down at the photo, and I said, "Sol, I know what you've been through. Keria was a good example…"

She looked at me sharply. "Why do you mention her?!"

Uh-oh. "Domino mentioned her, and she had a point. Keria…"

"Keria's gone! Leave her be!"

I flinched at her sudden, out of character outburst. "Sol, what the hell? You never get upset!"

She stood and turned to me, fire and tears in her eyes. "Well, maybe I want to get upset! Why does everyone expect me to be cold and uncaring?!"

This could backfire horribly. "Because you are."

She merely looked at me. "Milas…"

"Solaris, what is going on?! You've never been this emotional, ever! This emotional level alone is higher than all of your emotions combined! What's going on?!"

"I listened to you!"

I recoiled slightly. "What?"

"Those questions you asked earlier…I took those to heart. I saw that you spoke the truth and…I'm just trying to figure things out right now. I'm sorry if I can't be cold and uncaring!"

I looked at her, then I hugged her and whispered, "Don't apologize for feelings or weakness. I may exude confidence around everyone else, but I'm still only human. You should be, too." I let her go and said, "Whenever you're up for it, radio in. I'll see if there's something for you."

I went to the door and opened it, and the admins and executives fell in. They all looked up at me, and Ariana said, "Uh…"

"I don't wanna hear it." I stepped over them and went back into my office where Domino was waiting, and she said, "Nice job. Sol needed that."

"Big ears."

"Part of the job."

I nodded and looked at the others, who had gathered at the door. "So what do you think of Domino's plan?"

They all looked at each other and nodded. Petrel said, "It's a solid plan."

"Is it doable?"

Proton nodded. "Yeah, with the right people."

"You got someone in mind?"

They all looked at me, and I asked, "Does this job require me?"

They all nodded, and Domino said from behind me, "You and me. Solo mission."

I turned to her. "Why just you and me?"

"Because we have the least remorse."

"If you're looking for little remorse, you should've gone to Solaris."

"She would be a flight risk."

"Hey, she's still a good member."

"Until another Keria comes along…or has it?" She glanced at Nulos subtly.

"Domino, don't even go there. Keria…just don't."

She shrugged. "Fine. Now, the Mossdeep job. All we have to do is go and scope the place, and we should find a good way to get in."

"You have absolutely no idea what you're doing, do you…"

"Not really, no."

I sighed and turned to the others. "Domino and I are gonna take a chopper out to Mossdeep and pull this job. While we're gone, Heris is in charge. If another job comes along, weigh it carefully."

They all nodded, and I walked towards the stairs, Domino following me.

We got to the helipad on the roof, and a chopper was waiting for us. Before we got on, though, Domino stopped me and said, "Honestly, though…we don't want another Keria."

I turned to her and almost slapped her. Almost. "Keria…that was a lapse in judgment."

"And quick thinking on Solaris's part."

"Domino, we better focus on the job."

She gave me a look. "Whatever you say, boss."

I signaled to the pilot, and he started up the blades. We climbed in and I said, "Mossdeep. Quickly."

**Mossdeep City**

We touched down on the fringe of the island, away from prying eyes. I said to the pilot, "Go to Lilycove and wait for our signal, all right?"

He nodded and started up the blades. Domino and I got off, and he took off, leaving us alone on the island. Well, alone being a relative term…

I turned and looked at the rocket silo, giving a low whistle. "Nice silo."

Domino nodded and muttered, "Maybe I should have thought this through…"

"You think?"

"Not as much as you would think. What about you?"

I looked at her. "Tactical genius, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. So how do we break in?"

"Hm…what all's on this island?"

"It's actually a pretty big island. It's got all the stuff in Mauville, plus a few extra."

I looked at her. "Everything?"

She nodded, and I said, "Strip joints, too?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, two or three on the island. Why?"

I smiled. "What are the chances that someone who works there is lonely?"


	12. Chapter 12

After some reconnaissance, we determined which strip joint was the one most of the silo workers went to. Well, most was a loose term…it seemed that most were married or had girlfriends (or boyfriends, we also checked out the male strip joint, which I shudder to think about). How to get an entry badge was simple: all we had to do was either bribe a stripper…or have Domino go undercover.

"No way, no how! I have more dignity than this!"

Bribery failed, somehow. Maybe they were just too nice…anyways, we had to resort this, but Domino hated the idea with a passion. She was still ranting, "I may do a lot of things for Rocket, but not this!"

"Domino, this is the only way we'll get the ID tag!"

"No it's not! We can just kill or kidnap one of them."

"That'll raise alarms. This way is less alarming. Rather one lost a tag than their life."

She gave me a look. "You going soft?"

"No, I'm staying tactical. I'm your boss, too, remember? So when I tell you to strip, you strip!"

She sighed and took the bottom of her shirt in her hands, and I exclaimed, "Not for me, for the silo workers! Besides, that's shirt's so tight it doesn't leave a lot to imagination…"

She looked down, looked back at me, and nodded. "Well, that's true…"

"So you gonna do it?"

She sighed and nodded. "Fine…I'll do it."

"Good. Here." I gave her a pair of contacts. "You know the CCC's."

She nodded. Color Camera Contacts, or CCC, changed eye color and also had a visual link. Sound was a little tougher, and I handed her an earpiece, flesh colored so it'd be harder to see. Not impossible, just harder…

She put them in and asked, "Is my name still Domino?"

"Your stripper name? Hm…just stick with Black Tulip."

She blushed slightly. "I'm wearing black underwear…"

"Not for long."

She sighed and went into the strip club. See, the reason she had the contacts and the earpiece was so I could see and hear in. I couldn't afford to be caught…ever, simple as that. I put my contacts and earpiece in, and I could see and hear what she did.

It was a pretty nice sight, too. About fourteen or fifteen strippers, in various levels of clothing, were scattered around the room, entertaining various people. We had gotten Domino a job before the shift started, so all she had to do was find a silo worker, dance for him, and take his pass. Easy.

I spotted one on the far side of the room looking a little bored and muttered, "Domino."

"Yeah, I see him. How much is gonna go off?"

"As much as needed. You get the card, you get out. The less he's looking at you the better. Yes, it won't be your face, but we can't be too certain."

"Got it. Stay silent, we don't want him to get suspicious."

"Got it." I leaned back against the wall of the joint and merely observed.

She got up to him and said, "Hey, cutie. You here alone?"

He looked at her and nodded, and I heard her chuckle. "You want some…company?"

"Well…I have a usual girl. Where's she?"

"Who, Diamond Dust?" She pointed behind her and said, "She's busy with someone else. If you want I can leave you alone until she's done…"

He smiled. "No, that's okay. This might be fun. What do they call you?"

"Black Tulip."

She waited a second, then started to take off her clothing to the beat. The guy was grinning, and I saw her grab her breasts and push them together. "Like what you see?"

He nodded, and she gestured him to come closer. He did, and as she took off her pants, she subtly took the keycard on his shirt and put it into the pants pocket. He smiled and whispered, "How about I take you to my place?"

She glanced over her shoulder, and I saw another dancer coming her way. "I would, but I think Diamond's free. I think you prefer her over me…"

He grimaced slightly. "It's just a matter of habit. You're not offended?"

"Nah. I have others. Enjoy your Diamond."

He smiled, and Domino took her clothes and went to the back room. I cut the connection and went to the back door of the joint. A minute later, Domino came out, fully clothed and waving the keycard. "Got it."

"Knew you would. You seemed to know what to do pretty well…past experience?"

She blushed and growled, "Let's just get this done."

She stormed off, and I chuckled.

A few minutes later, we were standing in front of the silo, taking it in. I swiped the keycard, and the doors opened. We smiled and walked in, and after the doors shut, something hit me. "How do we get this thing out?"

She looked at me, and I continued, "It's only designed to go out the roof, not out the building."

"I have a plan."

"Blow a hole in the wall, take it, run, and hope for the best?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Sometimes you can't beat the classics. Let's go."

I walked further into the facility, and she followed me. After about ten minutes, we got to the main silo where a warhead was being developed. I gave a low whistle, and she said softly, "A Minuteman…never thought I'd get to see one."

I turned to her. "Can we get it to work?"

"In theory. Let's just worry about getting it out right now."

I nodded. "We can't exactly blow a hole in the wall. I get the feeling that any shock would set if off…"

"You need help?"

We looked around for this new voice. "Uh…depends. Who are you?"

"An ally of yours."

My eyes narrowed behind my shades. "Now why do I doubt that…"

A figure dropped in front of us, and Domino and I pulled out our weapons. This figure was dressed in purple, of all things, and was smiling like mad. "Uh…you are?"

He bowed largely, removing his top hat as he did so. "The Amazing Yilon at your service."

"The Amazing Yilon?"

He nodded and stood up straight, putting his top hat back on and pulling out an old-fashioned black-and-white wand. "Yes, I'm a magician. You need help moving this warhead?"

I looked at him. "Are you a criminal?"

He nodded again. "Mostly petty thefts and the like, but I've always had an eye for the big time."

"Hm…" I looked at the warhead. "From this point, how far could you teleport this warhead?"

He shrugged. "Lilycove, maybe. And only on the edges. I'd have to really focus if I wanted it to go farther."

I nodded. "Do it."

He smiled again and turned towards the warhead. He waved his hands in front of him, and purple smoke began billowing from them. It surrounded the warhead completely, and when it faded, it was gone. My eyes widened, and Domino and I gaped at him. He merely kept that smile of his and asked, "You want to go to Lilycove as well?"

I nodded and said, "You as well. You're hired!"

His smile somehow widened. "Splendid!" His purple smoke surrounded us, and we teleported.


	13. Chapter 13

**Mauville**

Thank Arceus for warehouses.

After Yilon, Domino and I got to Lilycove, it was pretty much child's play getting it back to Mauville, where we stuffed it in one of the warehouses until we needed it. Now the senior staff and I were watching the news, whose biggest story was the theft of a nuclear rocket from Mossdeep. News travels fast…

I looked at the others and said, "Well, I think we did well."

They all nodded, and Domino muttered, "Where's Yilon?"

I pointed up, and they all looked up at him lying on the ceiling. He smiled his debonair smile and came down to earth. He bowed for the others and said, "The Amazing Yilon at your service!"

They all applauded slightly, and Solaris muttered, "Show-off…"

He straightened up and shrugged. "There will always be critics." He turned to me. "Am I senior?"

I shook my head. "You gotta work your way up. Maybe one day."

He nodded and left through the door, and I took a breath. "Interesting fellow…"

They all nodded, and Proton coughed. I turned to him and asked, "Proton?"

Man, did he look nervous. "Uh…y'know how you never wanted anything to do with the other Executive?"

An obvious reference to Archer. My gaze darkened. "Yeah."

"Well…he's in Mauville. Apparently he got word that we were here."

I sighed through my nose. "Have you made contact with him?"

He shook his head, and Petrel asked, "Want us to?"

I thought about it a moment, then shook my head. "Just give me his location."

Proton handed me a piece of paper that read 'Game Corner', and I nodded and walked out without another word.

After about fifteen minutes, I arrived at the flashy Game Corner. I made sure my shades were still over y eyes and walked in.

I looked around the place, which was just plain gaudy. So many slot machines and roulette tables…I saw blue hair near a roulette table, and I approached it quietly. I got next to it, and sure enough, it was that weakling Archer. I repressed a growl and watched him for a minute. He was interested in the roulette table, but not actually betting. After two more spins, he walked off, not noticing me as I followed him.

He left the Game Corner and went the way I had come. He hadn't seen me yet, so I kept following him. He got in front of our building, and I called out, "Think this is the one."

He stopped and looked into the building, then back at me. "Milas?"

I said nothing, and he smiled. "So good to see you again! Now we can revive Team Rocket!"

I went up to him, pulled out my pistol, hit him with the butt end of it, and pinned him against the wall, muzzle against his forehead. "There is no we. Just me. You weakling!"

He grimaced, and I muttered, "You get one chance. You screw up, you die. Simple as that, Admin Archer." I put my gun away and walked inside.

I got back up to my office and said to the former Executives, "Archer's here if you wanna greet him."

They all cheered and ran out of the room. Domino looked at me and said, "Since when did you want him here?"

"Since I realized we could use more help."

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter." Nulos walked in, and it hit me. "Oh, damn. Our date."

She nodded, and I said, "Did I miss it?"

She nodded again, and I hugged her. "Oh, I am so sorry. Something came up. I promise we'll have our date."

She hugged me back and sighed. "I hope…" She let me go and walked out.

Domino cleared her throat, and I turned to her as she said, "Keria. This is exactly how that started. And you and I both know how that ended."

Anger filled me. "This is different!"

"How?"

"I have a good feeling about this!"

"You had a good feeling then, too! Didn't stop Solaris from killing her!"

The door opened suddenly, and I saw Nulos standing there, looking at us in shock. Uh-oh. "Are you saying Solaris is gonna kill me?!"

I shouted "No!" and Domino shouted, "Maybe!" We glared at each other, and I shouted, "It's DIFFERENT!"

"How?! HOW?!"

"It just is! This isn't another Keria! I know what I'm doing!" I stormed into my room and slammed the door behind me. I went over to my bed and sat down, putting my face in my hands, and someone knocked. "Who is it."

"Nulos."

"Come in." She opened the door and walked in tenderly, like she was walking through a minefield. "What is it?"

"What exactly was this Keria thing?"

I sighed and patted next to me, she sat, and I began my story. "Keria was a recruit in the Rocket of Giovanni. She was one of the best in both practice and mental. She was also…kinda cute."

Nulos groaned. "Oh, crap. I think I know where this is going…"

I nodded. "We started dating. It was going really well until…"

"Until what?"

I sighed. "Until we discovered she was a double agent. We had to kill her immediately, but…I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew she was bad news for us, but my feelings got in my way. She was about to escape…"

"Solaris."

I nodded. "She doesn't like killing, but she does it if it's necessary. Broke Keria's neck…"

She gave me a look of pity. "Milas…"

My face hardened. "That was the day I learned that I couldn't feel whatsoever, otherwise…it could kill me."

She put a hand on mine. "But…you and me."

I looked at her, and she said softly, "You don't know. You still doubt me…"

I nodded. "Nothing personal, just how I am. I can trust you eventually…but I just don't know when. I'm sorry." I got up and walked out, leaving Nulos alone.

I sat behind my desk and sighed, and Domino said, "Always a tough story."

I glared at her. "For once, could you now listen in so much?"

My icy tone surprised her, and she muttered, "You never cared before…"

I turned the chair towards the wall. "I know. I've changed…"

The door burst open. "Who's the boss of Rocket?!"

I didn't turn the chair around. "Who's asking?"

"Henrik, and I'm here to kill the boss!"

Hm. Horrible name. "What gender are you?"

"Uh…male. Why?"

I spun the chair around and shot a bullet point-blank into his forehead. "Good. No qualms." I pushed a button on my desk. "Could we get a clean-up crew in my office please? Dead bodies are _so _not matching the décor…


	14. Chapter 14

As the janitors dragged Henrik's body out, Domino looked at me. "Why'd you ask his gender?"

"Don't you remember?"

"Oh, yeah. You're a 'gentleman'. That hasn't particularly helped you ever…"

I glared at her. "Hey, in this business, bosses need a certain amount of respect. And fashion."

She looked over my black, pin-striped suit. "Yeah. And what has it gotten you?"

The phone on my desk rang, and I picked it up. "Milas."

"A warhead?!"

Trascill's voice nearly blew my ear off. "Yeah, a warhead."

"How?!"

"Magic."

"Be serious."

"I am. The Amazing Yilon helped us out. He now works for me."

"Oh, I've heard of him. Magician…anyways, when were you gonna tell me you had a WARHEAD?!"

I held the phone away from my ear again. "Why are you so excited?"

"Because it's a warhead! People pay a lot for nuclear capabilities!"

"That they do. Ballpark."

"At least 30 million. And people will bid higher."

I smirked. "When would you like this picked up?"

Silence. Then "It's a warhead. Tough to move…"

"Give me a city and I can have Yilon teleport it. Within the region, that is."

"Slateport. Biggest shipping center in the region. Do you want your money wired to you?"

"How much."

"Well…does 50 mil sound good to you?"

"60."

"That's high…"

"It's a nuclear warhead."

"Done. Stick your logo on it and teleport it. Once we have confirmation of its arrival, we'll wire the cash to your account."

"Deal. Should be there in five, ten minutes."

"Got it. Quickly."

I hung up and hit a button on my desk. "Send Yilon up here, now."

A few minutes later, Yilon walked in. "Yes, what is it?"

"Teleport the warhead to Slateport."

He nodded. "It'll take me some time."

"How much?"

"Not long. Just take me to where it's being stored, and within five minutes, I can teleport it."

I nodded and said to Domino, "Take him there, quickly."

She nodded and escorted him out, closing the door behind her. I sighed contently at the new cash. This was gonna go a long way…speaking of which, if we were gonna take over the world, we would need to expand. And very far…where to next…

Two doors opened, and Solaris and Nulos walked in at the same time, then they looked at each other. Nulos backed up slightly and Solaris muttered, "I'm not that intimidating…"

"I'm not another Keria."

Oh shit. I backed up quickly and watched Solaris's reaction, which was to sharply look at Nulos. "What?"

"I'm not another Keria. I won't betray Team Rocket, ever."

Sol glared at Nulos. "Who told-" She shot a glare at me. "Never mind…" She turned back to Nulos. "You afraid I'm gonna kill you, too?"

Nulos nodded vigorously, and Sol sighed. "I don't like killing. Never have, probably never will. I only killed Keria because _someone _was too weak to do it…" She shot me a glare, and I did nothing.

She turned back to Nulos and took a step towards her. "If you betray this team…Milas will be the least of your worries." She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I turned to Nulos and muttered, "Well, that went well…"

She looked at me. "Milas…"

I held up a hand and sat. "Nothing you need to say. I've worked with Solaris and know perfectly well how she is."

She nodded, and someone knocked. "Enter." Domino and Yilon walked in, and Yilon said, "Success. Warhead's in Slateport."

I nodded. "Good. And the funds?"

Domino chipped in, "Wired to the Sevii account."

"Good…Domino, get the other senior staff in here."

"Yes, sir." She left, and I turned to Yilon. "You're dismissed."

He bowed slightly and walked out. Soon, all of the senior staff had gathered in my office, and I stood to face all of them. "As you know, in order for us to take over the world, we must be everywhere. Which is why I'm flying to Sinnoh tomorrow to open a new base. Nulos and Heris shall accompany me, and if anyone else wishes to go, please inform me. Proton, you stay here and watch over the Hoenn office. You still work for me, but you control anything that happens in this region. Anyone have any questions?"

Silence. "You are dismissed." They all nodded and left, and I went into my room to pack.

**The Next Day**

Nulos, Heris and I all stood in front of the gate headed to Slateport, where we would catch a flight. We were all dressed in common clothing so we would blend in. I turned to them and said, "Let's go." The three of us got in the car Heris rented, and we drove off.

**Slateport**

It was easy to buy a ticket at the terminal. Now all we had to do was wait for the flight to Hearthome City, which-being a center of the region-would be the new location of our Sinnoh base.

I got back to the others with the stuff I had bought. "Here. Eat up."

They took it and started to eat. We sat there until an announcer said, "Flight 15 to Hearthome City will now begin boarding." We got up and headed to the gate, but before we got there, we had our passports checked.

The ticket agent looked them over. "So…Jilas Neutil, Bergy Yertio, and…Deres Oitus."

In other words, myself, Nulos, and Heris, in that order. We nodded, and he handed our passports back. "Enjoy your flight!"

I nodded, and the three of us boarded. Soon, the plane took off, winging its way across the sky towards a new region to take over. Mind you, Rocket was still underground, but once we had enough power and ability to take the regions, I planned to announce it over the Radio Tower in Goldenrod. Sure, it may seem repetitive, but it works. Rocket will succeed. Mark my words.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hearthome**

We touched down with barely a bump, and with little interference at customs, we were soon in Hearthome. I looked around, admiring the large city that was to be our next base. I started walking away from the airport towards car rental, and I heard someone say, "Psst, you in the suit."

I turned and beheld a man in shoddy clothing. He sidled up to me and whispered, "I have an offer for you. An amazing offer."

I sighed silently and decided to humor him. "Do tell."

He chuckled and continued whispering, "Well, I can break into the bank here in Hearthome and walk away with a hefty profit. Interested?"

"Define hefty."

"Ten thousand Poke."

I waved my hand at him and said, "Small potatoes. Find me when you can break a million." I walked away, leaving the vagrant confused.

Nulos and Heris came up to me, and Heris asked, "Who was the guy?"

"Small potatoes. So where's the HQ?"

Nulos said, "Downtown, close to a large gathering hall."

I nodded, and a limo pulled up. A chauffer got out, came over to us, and whispered, "Milas and company?"

"Who's asking?"

"Trascill."

I nodded. "He hire this for us?"

"Yeah. Says he owes you a favor. I'm here to drive you anywhere in Hearthome you need to go."

"Not the region?"

"Nah, across the region is extra."

I shrugged and got in the car, Nulos and Heris getting in as well. Our chauffer got in, closed the door, and drove off towards downtown.

About ten minutes later, we got to the warehouse district. I told the chauffer to stop, and the three of us got out. Another car stopped behind us, and the three of us tensed up and drifted our hands closer to our weapons. Slightly, but enough.

Someone got out of the car, and the three of us drew and almost immediately put them down. I rubbed my temples and muttered, "Domino, what the hell are you doing here."

She chuckled, and Solaris got out as well. I sighed and said, "Guys, we have this covered."

The two of them looked around and started pointing at all the nearby buildings. "Guys…what are you doing?"

The two of them looked at me, and Domino said, "Showing you all the places where a sniper could be hiding. One shot, one kill."

I rubbed my temples. "You followed us here just to tell me I could die? I know this, it comes with the territory."

Sol said, "You're the head of an organization trying to revive itself. The Mossdeep job was lucky; you didn't get caught."

Realization dawned. "You want me to stay in Hoenn."

They nodded, and unfortunately, I could see their point. As the head of Team Rocket, I would slowly gain fame in both the under and overworlds, and more and more people would want me dead. "Fine. Domino…you get this region. Start recruiting, get some jobs, you know the drill."

She nodded, and Sol pouted. "Solaris, you're not a team player yet. For now, all of us but Domino will return to Hoenn." I looked at Domino. "You still work for me."

She nodded and said, "Yes, boss. You know I'm loyal."

The sense helped. "I do. Sol, everyone…let's go."

We got into the limo and went back the way we came.

**Mauville**

I sat behind my desk, wondering if I had made a mistake entrusting Domino with the Sinnoh branch. Nulos said, "She'll be fine. And she's loyal."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I still worry."

She nodded, and my phone buzzed, signaling someone from in the building was calling. I hit speaker, and a voice said, "This is R&D. We have something you might wanna see, boss."

"On my way."

I hung up and went down to the second floor. The R&D department was pretty much white walls and-

I ducked, avoiding a random projectile. I looked behind me and back forward, glaring. All the scientists froze and looked the other way towards one scientist, who was holding a smoking gun, literally. "Uh…am I fired?"

I walked over to him silently, taking in the fear on his face. Then I shook my head. "You didn't kill me. You're fine. But try not to do that again."

He nodded, and I said to the crowd, "I heard y'all got something for me."

One scientist piped up. "Yeah, Croref does."

I nodded and went to the back of the room where Croref, the head scientist, worked. I got to his station and said, "Croref, I hear you got something for me."

He nodded from behind his goggles, smiling widely. He pulled out a briefcase and put it on a desk. I looked at it, then back at him. "Explain."

He smiled more, took the briefcase by the handle, and swung it at the table. Poor thing never stood a chance…it was smashed into kindling. I looked at him. "Whoa."

He nodded. "Titanium coating, about three inches thick. Also…" He clicked a switch on the handle, and the briefcase started to morph, gears whirring, until a Gatling gun was formed. I looked at it, and he said, "With silencers."

I looked at him. "Don't toy with me, man."

He smiled and pointed it at a target. He pulled a trigger that had formed on the handle, and all I heard were the coughs of silencers as the target was ripped to shreds by the bullets. He clicked a switch, and it changed back into a briefcase. He handed it to me, I took it, and it was surprisingly light. I looked at it, and he said, "Helpful for business kills."

Business kills. Something clicked. "Thanks, Croref. Good job."

He nodded, and I went back up to my office. I sat behind my desk, and Nulos asked, "New briefcase?"

I nodded. "It's a club and Gatling gun. For business kills…which helped me think of something. What if we started killing for profit?"

Heris looked at me. "Then we put several bounty hunters out of business."

Bingo. I hit a button on my desk and said, "Get me Hunter J. Not on phone, in my office, as fast as possible."

Nulos and Heris looked at me incredulously. "Hunter J?!" Heris exclaimed. "The world-renowned bounty hunter with an epic Salamence?!"

I nodded. "If she tells us the basics to bounty hunting and gives us ways to find clients, we can hire her and create our crack team of assassins."

They both nodded, and my phone buzzed. I put it on speaker and said, "Milas."

"It's Hunter J."

"What about her?"

The door opened suddenly, and a woman with silver hair stormed in. "I heard you wanted to see me. You the guy running this joint?"

I nodded, and she said, "I work for no one, got it? I look out for me, myself, and I. If you wanna hire me, fine, but I work for no one."

I looked at her. "You're very forceful."

"I have to be in this profession."

"How much would it cost for you to teach my people how to be professional killers?"

She flinched slightly. "I don't take killing missions…not my forte. But I do know a few people who are in that particular field and like sharing their knowledge. That what you're looking for?"

"Yes. Also the technology of your stone cannon. Very helpful for capture missions."

She looked at the wrist cannon, then back at me. "How much would you pay me to give you this cannon?"

"Name your price."

"Ten million."

"Five million."

"Nine million."

"Seven million."

"Done."

She took off the wrist cannon and gave it to Nulos. I said to her, "Get that down to R&D, they'll have loads of fun with that." She left, and J asked, "My money?"

"You have an account?"

She nodded and handed me a slip of paper with the account number. I inputted a few keys and said, "There. Seven million in your account."

She nodded and took the paper back. "Pleasure doing business with you." She turned on her heel and left the room, and I turned to Heris. "Well, that went well."


	16. Chapter 16

J had left us a nice list, and Heris and I were currently in interview four. Nulos had stayed in the R&D department at my orders, to keep tabs on analyzing the stone cannon. Lucky…

This guy was so boring…"And that was how I made my fiftieth kill. It was tough, but not as tough as the next one-"

"Thank you, we'll keep in touch." Heris stood him up and pretty much shoved him out of the room. He looked at me, rubbing his temples. "How many more of these interviews do we have?"

I looked at J's list. "Ten."

We both groaned, and a man walked in, about twenty or so. Not bad looking, either…close cropped sandy hair, kinda buff...I shook my head and extended my hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr…"

He took my hand and shook it with a firm grip. "Slade's fine."

"Is that your actual name?"

"No, but my real name only depends on how this interview turns out."

Hm…interesting. I gestured for him to sit, and we did. He said, "J tells me you're looking for a professional killing teacher."

I nodded, and he smiled. "I can help with that. I'm known to be pretty good at my job."

"You have a list?"

He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. I looked it over, reading several big names, until I stopped on one. I looked up at him. "Is this list completely true?"

He nodded, looking a little puzzled. "Absolutely. Why?"

"Because…there's a name on here. A certain name."

He shrugged. "Well, it's a large list, I know, but-"

"Stop right there."

He stopped talking, and I stood. "Slade…the name I am referring to…is Morrison!"

Heris looked at me sharply, then at Slade. "Morrison?! You killed him?!"

Slade nodded, and I exclaimed, "You are hired!"

"What?"

"Morrison is a huge celebrity! And you killed him! That is warrant enough to be hired!"

He smiled, stood, and shook my hand. "Pleasure to be working with you. Wait, with or for?"

"With. You're a teacher, so I think we can consider you higher seniority."

He nodded, and I said, "Armory's on the third floor. We'll have your classes there starting tomorrow, unless you need more time."

He shook his head. "Nope, I can start tomorrow." He walked out, shutting the door behind him. I looked at Heris. "This just got so much more awesome."

He nodded, and my phone buzzed. I put it on speaker and said, "Milas."

"It's Nulos. Update: They've figured it out."

"Have them start mass producing them."

"Yes, boss."

I hung up and smiled. "Heris, go help Slade got settled in."

He nodded and left. I sat and picked up my phone. "Proton and Petrel, get up here."

They got to my office in a few minutes, and I said, "We still will expand, so I've decided to give both of you a region. You both are responsible for Unova. Is that clear?"

They nodded, beaming, and ran out to pack. I smiled, and someone knocked. "Enter."

Heris walked in and said, "Slade's settled in. What should we do now?"

"Unless something comes up, nothing. We should get some rest."

He nodded, and we went into our quarters, and after I changed, I went to sleep, comfortable with the world as is.

**Yeah, I know it's short. Tomorrow's will be longer.**


	17. Chapter 17

**The Next Day**

Man, I should've figured it wouldn't last. Why do I say that, you ask? Because I awoke with a gun to my head.

I opened my eyes slightly, and a voice growled, "Don't!"

I shut my eyes, and the voice said, "I'm here to kill you. Turns out there's a pretty big reward on you, so…"

I slowly moved my hand towards the gun under my pillow, and the voice growled, "You know how hard it was to get in here? It wasn't."

"Means I gotta improve security…hey, what's your gender?"

"Uh…male. Why?"

I brought the pistol out and unloaded the clip in his general direction. I sat up and looked at the corpse now lying next to my bed. Clad in black and wearing a mask, it was obvious he was a professional. I took the mask off, and-

"Heris! Get your ass in here now!"

Heris ran in, shouting, "What, what, what?!"

I pointed at the corpse. "It's our chauffer!"

"From Hearthome?"

I nodded, and he looked at the corpse, nodding. "Yeah, that's him. Why's he dead?"

"I shot him."

"Why?"

"Because I don't like lead for breakfast."

He nodded and asked, "How did we not know, though? We're usually pretty good at this stuff…"

I nodded. "Means he's really good, then-oh, damn!"

I ran into my office and picked up my phone, dialing the Sinnoh branch. It rang…and rang…and rang…and then someone picked up. "Hello?"

"Domino?"

"No."

"Solaris?"

"No…who's this?"

"Who's this?"

Silence. Then…"You must be Milas."

I froze. "Who are you."

"A guy interested in meeting you. And as extra incentive…I've taken both of your officials here in Hearthome."

"Where do you want us to meet."

"Veilstone City. You have until sundown." He hung up, and I shouted, "Heris!"

He ran in, and I said, "Time to stock up. Domino and Solaris have been kidnapped, somehow. We're headed to Veilstone to save them. Any questions?"

"Just one. What are we taking?"

I smiled. "Our basics…and Shi."

**Veilstone, several hours later**

Heris and I walked into a warehouse in Veilstone, me carrying my briefcase. After we had landed in Hearthome, we rented a car and drove straight here. After our arrival, a figure had slipped me a piece of paper saying where to go.

We got to about the center of the floor, and we say Domino and Solaris tied to chairs, both looking so pissed. "What happened."

Domino sighed and muttered, "We let our guard down…we screwed up. We're sorry, Milas." Solaris nodded, and I said, "It's fine. Just don't let it happen again. Where's the guy?"

Someone cleared their throat from behind us, and Heris and I turned. He was in the shadows, so we couldn't discern any details. "Milas, who is this. I told you to come alone."

"Actually, you didn't. Trust me, if you had, I would have."

"Oh." Awkward silence, then the figure said, "Well, send him away."

I shook my head. "He's here, so he stays. What do you want?"

"Your death."

I nodded. "Should've figured. You're not alone."

"You guessing?"

"I'm assuming. If our roles were reversed, there would be no way I'd come to something to this alone."

He nodded and muttered, "I'm alone. Thought you were coming alone…"

I shook my head. "So disappointing…any last words before we kill you?"

"Yes. I'm not the only one who feels like this!" He pulled a firearm out, but Heris and I were faster. He started unloading his clip, and I started firing Shi, the briefcase. Within seconds, he was down. "Heris, untie the girls."

He nodded and went to do so, and I went over to the body and examined it. I swore softly and stood. "Heris…"

He looked over. "Yeah?"

"It's Tabitha."

"Of Magma?"

"Yeah. Which means that we have a rebellion on our hands." I pulled out my phone and dialed the Unova branch. Someone picked up quickly. "Proton."

"Get back to Mauville, now. I'll explain when you return."

"Yes, boss." We hung up, and the four of us went to leave the warehouse. But…

A squad of Magma goons stood there, led by Courtney. "Well, you killed Tabitha. Pity…means I have to kill you."


	18. Chapter 18

I looked at the goon squad in front of us and began to chuckle. I started laughing outright, and Courtney gave me a 'oh my god, this guy is crazy' look. I stood up straight, still laughing, clicked the switch, changed it into the Gatling gun (I had changed it back after we killed Tabitha) and almost shouted, "I love my job!"

I started unloading it, and Courtney was the only one fast enough to evade my stream of bullets, which killed all of her squad on contact (which were all male, thankfully. I'm still trying to live by my code). I clicked the switch and looked at Courtney, who had fear on her face. I walked over to her and pulled out a pistol, pointing it at her head. "Give me one reason not to kill you."

She bowed her head and whispered, "I have none…"

"Very well." I shot the tranquilizer pistol, and she was out in a few seconds. I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder, dialing my phone as I did so. Someone answered quickly. "Proton."

"You left yet?"

"No, we were just about to, though. Did the thing get taken care of?"

"Yeah. Just make sure you don't have any Magma or Aqua grunts with you."

"Got it." We hung up, and I handed Courtney's body to Domino. "Sell her. You have Trascill's number."

She nodded, and I said, "Heris and I are headed back. You too, Sol. I'm still not quite sure how you got here…"

She shrugged. "I'm sneaky. I can't give all my secrets away."

"Very true. But now you're coming back with us, alright?"

She nodded, and the three of us left Domino to her region.

**Mauville**

I walked into the building and looked at the receptionist. "Any calls or visits?"

He nodded. "A visitor. Still hasn't left."

"Should I be worried?"

"Well…as worried as you should be about three heads."

Uh-oh. "Got it." I turned to Heris and Solaris. "You two stay here. I'll buzz the receptionist when it's safe. Find a place in the building to be as opposed to the fourth floor."

They nodded, and I started going upstairs.

I got to the fourth floor and asked my receptionist, "They still in there?"

She nodded grimly. "Cyrus, Ghetsis, and Lysandre. All for you."

"Great…" I walked in, and three men looked at me. One had blue hair and appeared to be wearing some kind of spacesuit, one had green hair and was clad in a brown cloak with something over his eye, and one was dressed in a black suit and had flaming red hair. These were Cyrus, Ghetsis, and Lysandre, respectively. "Gentlemen…"

They all nodded, and I asked, "What brings you here?" I slightly tightened my grip on the briefcase handle.

Cyrus said, "We hear you're reviving Team Rocket. We merely offer our congratulations…it is a large task."

"That it is. Why are you here, anyways? As far as I know, you all lost your will for evil."

They looked at each other, then Ghetsis said, "So people believe."

"Get to the point. What do you want."  
>Lysandre said, "Merely to join forces with you."<p>

"Galactic, Plasma, and Flare are all disbanded, Plasma especially."

Ghetsis recoiled, and Cyrus said, "Saturn has taken good care of the organization. I can pick up right where I left off."

I rubbed my temples. "Look, none of you are anything anymore. You all focused on Pokémon to do your bidding, but that's not how I'm doing this. Hard work will pay off…so no. None of you will join."

They looked at each other, then at me a little angrily. Ghetsis muttered, "You will regret this…"

I shook my head, pulled out my pistol, and fired three times. I looked at the corpses and opened the door, saying to my receptionist, "Could you get a cleaning crew in here, please?"

She nodded and hit a button, and I went into my office, closed the door, walked over the bodies, and sat in my chair. Not everyone gets a piece of the action…

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Nulos opened the door, and I said, "Hey, Nulos. Sorry, stuff's been going on…"

She looked down at the bodies and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that…so is our date for tonight still on?"

I smiled. "Yeah, don't worry. We're still good."

She smiled and walked out, and Yilon appeared. "Nice girl."

I looked at him. "How long have you been there?"

"How long have you been gone?"

"Yilon, why did you even do it?"

"You didn't even notice me. Does that explain?"

I nodded. "Yeah, means you're here for all meetings so as to make sure nothing…crazy happens."

He grinned. "Is that a promotion?"

"I suppose so."

He nodded. "Pleasure to be of service." There was a puff of smoke, and he was gone.

I sat back in my chair and relaxed for a moment, letting my mind wander. Tabitha was dead and Courtney was being sold into slavery, so as far as I knew, the revolt was over. Unless it had spilled over into Aqua…eh, who am I to worry about this? If something happens, I'll deal with it.

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

No one walked in, and I said a little louder, "Enter."

Still nothing. I buzzed my receptionist and asked, "Is there anyone out there?"

"No sir. Why?"

"No reason." I hung up and wondered what that could be. Maybe some new stealth tech from R&D…but they would have called. It worried me…

"It should worry you, this intruder could kill you."

"If it is an intruder."

"I suppose that's true…you don't know for sure, though."

"Yeah…" Then I realized I was the only one in the room. I stood quickly and scanned the room, but I was alone. "Who are you? Hell, where are you?"

The voice chuckled, and from what I heard, I figured it was a female. "Who I am, I won't say. Where, though…I'm in your head!"

My eyes widened, and I muttered, "No…that can't be right! I'm sane!"

"Relatively. I'm finding some interesting things in here…who's Keria?"

I growled, "Show yourself!"

"Fine, fine! Yeesh…"

A figure appeared in the middle of the room, and I looked her over. She was tall, maybe about 6'4, and had red hair going all the way down her back to her waist. She had an impressive figure, but that wasn't my first priority. "Who the hell are you?"

She pouted. "Cursing at a lady? So unlike your code…"

"Exactly how much did you see?"

She grinned. "Enough. And…who is Bristir?"

"Never say that name again!"

She recoiled and said softly, "Touchy subject…it's buried so deep I can't tell anything about it. Oh, my bad, my name's Linderis."

"So why are you here?"

"Because I want to join Team Rocket, and I think you could use my particular abilities."

"Which are?"

"Mind manipulation. I can read minds and even change perceptions."

"Change perceptions?"

She chuckled. "I can make people see what I want them to see. You know how you couldn't see me earlier?" I nodded, and she continued, "That's because I convinced your brain you were alone in the room. I have that power."

I smirked, deciding something. "You're hired." I pressed a button. "Yilon, come in, please."

He teleported in, and before any of them said anything, I said, "He's a magician, she's a brain manipulator, argue."

I sat, ready to enjoy the fireworks. And boy did they blow up. Within a few minutes, I started hearing things such as (but not limited to):

"Magic doesn't exist!"

"Mystical arts are possible, buzzkill!"

"Buzzkill?! Says the guy with smoke everywhere! Where's the joint?"

"What joint?! This smoke is magical!"

I looked between the two of them like a tennis match, and my receptionist brought in a sack of popcorn. "Extra butter?"

She nodded, and I said, "Thanks. Nice job." She nodded again and walked out, and I settled in to enjoy the argument between mystical and fact. Always fun.


	19. Chapter 19

After about an hour of arguing and three bags of popcorn, I figured that was enough. I stood and clapped my hands, saying, "That will be all! Dismissed."

They looked at me and walked out, still arguing. The door shut, and I sat and grinned. And people say this isn't fun…

Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter."

Solaris walked in, and I straightened up a little. "Solaris…odd seeing you here in my office. What is it?"

She sat and looked at me, a little nervous, which was also unusual. "Sol, what's on your mind?"

She said something softly, and I couldn't hear it. "Say again?"

"I heard you met Linderis."

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She mentioned a name…"

"Keria, yeah, I know-"

"No, not that one. The other one…"

My gaze darkened. "That name need not be said aloud."

"Bristir."

I stood angrily. "I said it need not be said!"

She stood as well. "I've never heard that name before. Not even while we were working together in Team Rocket. Must be painful…"

"That's why I don't talk about it! If I say that a name need not be said aloud, you don't say it! Simple as that!"

She gave me an odd look. "Milas, who is Bristir?"

I turned away and looked out the window. "Someone that should not be talked about."

"Why not?"

I sighed. "Just don't, okay? Just…don't."

I glanced over my shoulder, and she nodded slightly and left the room. I heard the door shut, and I took a breath. Bristir…that name brought up old memories. Painful memories that are better to be…forgotten. Bristir…

I heard a knock, and I said, "Enter."

I turned back around, and Archer was standing there. "What."

"I heard. Bristir…"

I turned back around. "Need not be said."

"So what if he's a cop?"

I turned back around. "Need. Not. Be. Said! Get out!"

Archer merely looked at me. "You're gonna have to face it eventually."

"Don't you think I know that?! I'm…I'm trying to avoid it, but I know…"

"One day."

I looked at him. "Please leave."

He nodded and walked out, shutting the door. Which was opened almost instantly by Solaris, who said, "A cop?"

"SOLARIS!"

She recoiled. "You…you've never raised your voice at me."

"Well, this'll be the first! Get out of my office!"

Another door opened, and I shouted, "Everyone out! Now!"

"Even me?"

I turned to the person who had just come in, and I softened a bit. "Nulos…"

She came in and closed the door, as did Solaris. They both stood in front of my desk, giving me the same accusatory look. "Who is Bristir?"

I looked away. "Not now…in time, I'll tell, but please…not now…"

They looked at each other and walked out. I sat and put my head in my hands. Bristir…

Someone knocked, and I said, "I swear to Arceus, if it's about Bristir, I just might shoot you."

Arianna opened the door slightly. "What about him?"

I sighed. "Never mind, what is it?"

She came in and shut the door behind her and said, "Good news and bad news. Good news, Slade's trained a large group of assassins for us."

I nodded. "Good. What's the bad news?"

"I accidentally looked through his stuff while he was out and-"

"Accidentally?"

She smirked. "Cover story. Anyways…I found his hitlist. And there's a certain name on there."

"Yeah, Morrison. That's why we hired him."

"Well…there's a new name, near the bottom."

"Well, what is it?"

She looked nervous, and I asked, "What was the name?"

She was silent still, and she finally said, "It was…Nulos."

My eyes widened and I stood. "Are you absolutely sure?"

She nodded, and I walked out, saying over my shoulder, "Thanks!"

I went down a floor to the armory, looking for Slade, and I spotted him chatting with the armorers about various guns. I went over to him and asked, "You got a sec?"

He looked at me, then looked back at the armorers. "One sec, guys. And the AK-47's just too mainstream…"

I dragged him away and muttered, "Show me your hitlist."

He gave me an odd look, but he pulled it out anyways, and I looked it over. I got near the bottom, and I saw it. I looked back up at him. "Nulos."

"Yeah, what about it? It's a name on my list."

"That's one of my Executives. Tell me who gave you this job."

"Can't. Assassin-client privilege."

"How much did this one pay you?"

"Can't say."

I pulled out my pistol. "Tell me now."

He smirked. "If you kill me, you'll never know. You need me alive."

I nodded, then hit him with the butt end of the pistol, knocking him out. "Oh so true." I started dragging him towards the elevator, I went in, and the doors shut.

Once we got to the cells on the fifth floor, I called the guards over. "Get this guy to interrogation. Grill him until he breaks. Use whatever means you have to in order to get him to tell us who hired him to kill Nulos."

They nodded and dragged him away, and I went back downstairs to my office.

I opened the door and immediately ducked, narrowly dodging the knife flung at me. I pulled out my pistol, but then I took the situation in. There was someone in the middle of my office, clad entirely in black and holding Nulos. The figure said, "You Milas?"

I nodded, and he chuckled. "Perfect. Now you can watch me take her."

I aimed the pistol carefully, but he said, "I wouldn't if I were you." He held up a free hand, showing me a switch. A dead-man's switch.

Instantly I lowered my gun, and he smirked. "Good. You're not totally stupid. Now, I'm gonna take this girl and get my reward. Maybe have a little fun…" He licked his lips, and Nulos whimpered. I took a step closer and asked, "Who are you?"

He took a step back and said, "Hired gun."

"Hired by who? The same guy who hired Slade?"

The figure looked kinda shocked. "You have Slade here?!"

"Yeah. He's in interrogation now."

"Damn, you guys are good…"

"So you were hired by the same person…tell me who hired you and I'll let him go."

The figure shook its head. "No can do. Every hitman for themselves."

"Who hired you?"

"Assassin-client privilege."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll pay you to tell me."

"How much?"

"Name a figure."

It thought a moment. "One hundred thousand."

"Alright."

It blinked, then let Nulos go. "Here." He gave me a slip of paper with what I assumed to be an account number on it, and in a minute, I had transferred one hundred thousand Poke to his account. Man, bribery can be fun…"Name."

"Giovanni."

I looked at him sharply. "Liar!"

"I kid you not! Medium height, black glossed hair, ruthless expression!"

That was Giovanni to a T. "No…fine. Now get."

He nodded and ran out, and I buzzed the cells. "Let Slade go. We got the information."

Nulos looked at me. "Didn't Giovanni found Team Rocket?"

"Yeah. Which brings up several questions…the biggest one being this: Why hasn't he called?"


	20. Chapter 20

Obviously, I called all of the senior staff into the office, and I assumed Yilon hid himself as well. "Alright, good news and bad news. Good news, Giovanni's resurfaced. Bad news, he's hired people to kill Nulos. Either he's testing us…or he actually wants us to fail."

Heris said, "But wouldn't he want Rocket to succeed?"

"Not necessarily," Solaris interjected. "It could be that he's still trying to honor that Trainer's request and keep Rocket dead."

Arianna nodded slowly. "Giovanni does care about his honor…"

Nulos asked, "But why me? He barely knows me, it would make more sense for him to target one of you."

Archer shook his head. "No, he knows where we stand. You, Heris, any other new people Milas hired…to Giovanni, they're all questionable."

I said, "Except he knows I have my skill."

They all looked at me, and I said, "Y'know, I have an instinct. Tells me how where people's loyalties lie and such."

They all backed up slightly, and I chuckled. "Guys, you've been cleared. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Now back to the main thing…where would Giovanni hide?"

They all thought, and Solaris shuddered. "Sol, what is it?"

She looked at me. "He…he has a fallout base. Here, in Hoenn. We never had to use it, but it's stocked to the brim with everything he would need, including suits and hair gel."

I recoiled slightly. "Giovanni never mentioned this…"

She shrugged. "Boss's kid gets privilege."

I glared at her, and she gave a cocky smile and chuckled. "It should be in Lilycove."

"You sure?"

She nodded, saying, "You'll have to take me, too. He and I are the only ones who know the access codes to enter the shelter."

I sighed. "Fine. We'll head out immediately." I hit a buzzer. "Get a car ready. Nothing fancy, just something that'll get the job done. Also bulletproof." I released the buzzer and walked out, Solaris following close behind.

**Timelapse**

As I drove along with Solaris in the passenger seat, I wondered deep down if Solaris was leading me astray for some reason…then my instinct would kick in and slap me back to reality.

"Who's Bristir?"

My grip on the wheel clenched, but I otherwise didn't respond. I felt her gaze focused on me, and I muttered, "None of your damn business. Drop it."

"No. Obviously it's a big thing, otherwise I would also know. Tell me."

"No. I'll tell you when you're ready to know."

"You mean when you're ready to tell."

"Exactly. So shut up."

She faced front and pouted, and I kept driving along Route 123. I knew it led to Mt. Pyre, which was an island, but I also knew there was a bridge connecting this route and Route 121, so no problem.

We got to the bridge, and I started to drive over it, gazing at Mt. Pyre as I did so. It was a resting place for Pokémon…as heartless towards people I might be, Pokémon definitely have a soft spot in me. I subconsciously tapped my Zweilous's Pokeball.

Solaris saw the action and said softly, "Still have that Deino?"

"It evolved. Zweilous now."

She smiled. "Nice. I know how much you like it."

I nodded. "It's dear to me, and it especially likes human flesh."

She shuddered slightly. "Forgot about that…"

I grinned. "Sometimes it's fun to watch the heads fight for the biggest portions."

She gagged, and I chuckled. "Alright, I'm done."

She shot me a glare. "Jackass."

I shrugged. "You and I both know I've been called worse."

"True…how much longer until we get there?"

I pointed at the city in front of us. "That answer your question?"

She nodded. "Smartass…"

I nodded. "That I am."

I parked the car just outside the city, and we entered. I looked around and said, "Alright, where's the shelter?"

"West side."

"Lead on."

She nodded and started walking, myself following close behind. After five minutes of walking, we got to the western beach and she held up a finger, motioning to be quiet. I did so, and she whistled a tune. I gave her a confused look, and when there was no response, she started walking again. I followed, and she went up to a rock about her height and kicked it. It opened, and I facepalmed. "That's the elaborate hideout?"

She shot me a look. "Maybe old fashioned…but hey, it works."

I sighed and followed her in. After ten minutes of walking down industrial steel halls (nothing new), we finally got to a door. Steel, hydraulic, perfect for withstanding an attack. I looked at her, and she said, "Like I said: basics."

She went up to a keyboard and typed something so fast I didn't catch it. I heard the lock give, and she gestured. "Your idol."

"Your father."

She gave me a dark look, and I muttered, "Estranged need not be said…" I walked in the room, not sure what to expect.


	21. Chapter 21

I looked around the room, slightly surprised at how lavish it was. It had a four-poster bed, some sort of window (which I didn't know how that worked since we were underground), and a table in the center, which I focused my gaze on, for there was a man sitting there facing away from the door. I stood for a moment, taking in the black, glossed hair and the immaculate black suit. Then he spoke. "Solaris. Why do you come? You know I have all I need here."

I swallowed, feeling something catch in my throat. "Everything except company."

The figure froze, then he stood, still facing away from me. "Milas."

"Giovanni."

He turned, and I saw that same fierce expression that he always wore. "Milas."

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out."

"How did you get in?"

I looked behind me, and Solaris walked in. Giovanni's gaze changed somewhat, and I said, "You're trying to kill my people. I don't know why, and I want answers now."

He looked at me. "Who, that Nulos girl? Figured she was another K-"

"Stop!"

He recoiled slightly. "That's a first. You raised your voice to me…you must think you're getting somewhere."

"I am. I've got Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. Only a matter of time before I have the other regions and officially announce Rocket's revival."

He nodded slowly. "Do what you will…"

"Your final words to me."

He looked away, and I continued, "We could have kept Rocket going! You knew perfectly well that some Trainer someday was gonna beat you!"

He shot me a look. "I was the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto! None could beat me!"

"Except the Elite Four! If they had figured out who you were, they would not have hesitated to end you! They sure didn't in Johto!"

Solaris cringed, and Giovanni said, "What happened in Johto."

"Massacre. The Executive's had fled, but the grunts were still there, optimistic about the future. Then the Elite got there…and killed them all. Terminated with extreme prejudice. Just for following orders."

Giovanni took a breath. "Then they died for a worthy cause."

My eyes widened, and I took a step back. "I knew you were heartless…but to your own p-" I would have finished, but then I remembered what had happened to Solaris…

I turned away, and he said, "Yes, to my own people if need be. I look out for the organization above all else."

Still not facing him, I whispered loud enough for him to hear, "What if there's no one left after you succeed?"

There was silence in the room, and I heard Giovanni mutter, "As long as I'm there, there's no reason to mourn. They would all give their lives for me, and I would be grateful as I ruled the regions."

I spun around and shot him point-blank. He fell to the ground, and Solaris gasped. "You killed him?"

I shook my head. "No, stomach shot. It'll kill him in time if it's not treated."

I turned on my heel and went to leave, and Giovanni muttered, "You would kill your idol?"

I stopped and turned to him. "You're not my idol anymore. My idols are the ones who kept you from killing the organization, the ones who cared about the grunts. The former Executives…I owe them an apology." I sighed and muttered, "Farewell, Giovanni. We shall not meet again." I walked out, and after one last glance, Solaris followed.

**Minor Timelapse**

As we drove back towards Mauville, I could feel the uncomfortable atmosphere in the car, mostly because I had shot my former idol. Only one thing could fix this. "Bristir is more than a cop."

She turned to me and whispered, "You don't need to tell me…"

"I should. I just killed your father, so you ought to know."

She nodded, and I continued. "As I grew through the ranks of Rocket, one grunt in particular found he was liking Rocket less and less. One day, the police raided a warehouse of ours, and he was there. The grunt gave himself over and begged to be part of the force. After said grunt joined the force, he grew quickly through the ranks, eventually earning himself the rank of Regional Captain, one of the highest ranks there is."

Solaris nodded. "Bristir."

I sighed. "My brother."

She screamed, "WHAT?!" so loud, I almost lost control of the car.

"Your brother?!"

I nodded. "We both joined Rocket, but he didn't take to the evil part of it. Now…"

"I understand now. When he finally tracks you down…"

I sighed deeply. "One of us will die. Either me…or him."

There wasn't a word said for the remainder of the journey.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, all. Damn, it's been far too long…I'll shut up now so you can enjoy!**

It had been three months since Giovanni's death. If there was such a thing as a normal syndicate time, we had it. Routine procedures, regular sales…to be honest, I was bored out of my skull. Until something finally happened. What a concept…

A knock on my office door. "Enter." Archer and Arianna walked in. Our relationship had improved after I had apologized to them, and now we respected each other more. "Archer."

He nodded and said, "I'll get right to the point. A client is paying us a large amount to assassinate an important individual."

"Who's the individual?"

Arianna muttered, "It's a bad idea…"

Archer shot her a look, and I addressed her, "Why's that?"

She looked at me. "Because it's been tried before. And it obviously failed."

"Hm…ultimately my decision." I turned to Archer. "Who?"

He took a breath. "Wallace."

I stood quickly. "What?!"

He nodded and went on quickly, "Someone wants him dead in Sootopolis."

"Who's the client?"

"Dunno."

"Is the client here?"

Arianna nodded, and I said, "Bring him in. I want to know who I'm dealing with."

They both grimaced, and I sighed. "What."

They looked at each other, but they said nothing. "The client is here, correct?"

They nodded. "In the lobby?"

A hesitation, then a nod. "Fine. Stay here."

I walked out and took the elevator down to the lobby. The doors opened, and I walked out, looking for an unfamiliar face. "Nico, anyone here?"

The receptionist shook his head. "Not since that one guy came in."

"Where'd he go?"

He pointed, and I turned quickly, pulling and levelling my pistol as I did so. Man, that felt nice…"Who are you?"

The stranger chuckled, most of him in shadow. Then, with a lilt to his voice, he said, "My identity need not be revealed. I merely need a favor."

"We only do favors for people we know. Step out of the shadows, now!"

He sighed and walked out, showing a man in a long blue coat, with a mustache and black hair, except for one streak. "I am Juan."

My gaze behind my shades darkened. "I know you. Why would you want your pupil dead?"

He scoffed. "After I taught him, I realized that I love battling. So I want him out of the picture."

"Who's gonna take over as Champion if Steven abdicates?"

"Steven wouldn't."

I shrugged. "I hear he had a challenger who showed him the joys of outside interactions. Steven might leave, then Wallace would take his place, then you would be Sootopolis Gym Leader. Easy."

He growled, "But I want him gone now!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but just be patient."

He sighed. "I thought you would jump at the chance to kill a celebrity…"

"I killed Giovanni. I'm good."

His eyes widened. "You killed your boss?"

"I brought Rocket back, and I am the boss. He was merely…expendable."

Juan chuckled. "Very well. I shall take my leave." He went to go, and I said, "Not quite."

He turned, and I shot him, head shot. I turned on a radio. "He's dead. Come down here so we can show him to the client."

The client being Wallace. See, he had suspected that someone was trying to kill him, so he came to us and asked us to kill the killer before he was killed. A decent sum of 10,000 was to be paid for this easy job.

Ten minutes later, my cell phone rang. "Milas."

"It's Wallace. The money's been wired."

"Thanks for your patronage."

"Thank you for preserving me."

"Anything." I hung up, and I relaxed in the chair behind my desk. Life was…all right.

A knock. "Enter." Nulos and Heris walked in. I smiled and said, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

My girlfriend and my best friend looked at me. A look that meant not good…I stood. "Guys?"

They spoke at the same time. "I want a region."

I recoiled slightly. "Why?"

Heris said, "I think I could do more in another region."

I nodded, and Nulos said, "So do I."

I looked at both of them. In the past few months, they had proven themselves, occasionally successfully carrying out ops. They were both good, but one was slightly better. "Heris, you're headed for Kalos. Pack your bags, you leave in the morning."

He nodded and walked out, and Nulos gave me a look. "Why him?"

I said, "It's only because he's slightly better than you. You two are very good at what you're doing, but he's a little better. You understand."

She nodded, the disappointment obvious in her eyes. Even with our regular dates over the last few months, she had seemed to be lacking…something. "Nulos, is something wrong?"

She looked at me. "No…nothing's wrong."

She walked out before I could inquire further. Hm…I hit the button. "Solaris, come in, please."

She walked in, and I said, "I need a favor."

She recoiled slightly. "That's new…"

"I know, and it's an odd one for you. I need you to connect with Nulos, girl to girl."

She gave me a look. "What the hell?"

"Something's bothering Nulos, but she won't tell me."

She nodded slowly and said, "Very well, I can try. Nothing overnight, you understand."

I nodded, and she walked out. I leaned back in my chair and sighed. I thought this would be more fun…


	23. Chapter 23

Sometimes I think life enjoys kicking me in the nuts.

Someone knocked, frantically. "Enter." Linderis walked in frantically, and I gave her a confused look. "Lin, what's the problem?"

She looked around the room, then she came close to me and whispered, "Something's following me."

She turned nervously, and I sighed, hitting the buzzer. "Yilon, come here, please."

He teleported in, and the two of them shot daggers at each other. I spoke quickly, "Yilon, what is Lin seeing?"

He looked at me. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

Linderis scoffed. "Probably because he's got nothing…"

He gave her a sharp look. "Says the one who has no physical proof she can control minds. If you can control minds, then why aren't you controlling me right now?"

She gave him a look. "You want me to control you? Fine!" She focused, but Yilon didn't change. He chuckled and said, "Maybe try a little harder."

Her face turned red from effort, and he got closer to her and said in a low voice, "I can feel you probing, and I'm gonna tell you right now: My mind's a steel trap. You're not gonna get anything, and I could most likely cut you off violently and leave you brain dead."

She looked at him, then she backed up from him. "I could sense that…you train your mind?"

He chuckled. "Every day. Gotta keep the mind sharp in order to focus on my magic."

She sighed softly. "I might regret this, but…can you help me understand your magic?"

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't imagining this. Yilon did as well, then he grinned. "You're willing to try?"

She nodded. "With your mind in that shape, I'm impressed. I wanna know more."

He smiled and nodded, and the two of them walked out. I leaned back in my chair. Bickering ever since they met each other, and that one encounter ended it. Wow…

Heris walked in carrying bags, and I stood. "Heris."

He looked at me. "Yeah?"

"You said you owe Rocket a favor."

He cringed slightly. "Later."

"You mentioned this three months ago, and that's the only thing you've said about it. One would think that you'd be willing to tell now."

He looked away and whispered, "You'd be surprised…" He walked out without another word.

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. Sure, it was a good quality for someone in his position, but it pissed me off when he turned it on me. I wanted to know why he owed Rocket…and if that debt had been paid.

A knock. "Enter." Solaris walked in, and I asked, "Progress?"

She sat in one of my chairs, and I sat in mine. She shuddered and muttered, "So much…fashion…ugh…"

I knew Solaris was really tomboyish. "Sorry."

"You better be. I turned the conversation to you, and she just as quickly changed the topic."

I sighed. "Will you talk to her again?"

She shrugged. "Sure. It's interesting to try."

"Good to hear. And no torture, got it?"

She pouted. "Fine."

"Also, there's someone named Linderis here, Lin for short."

Solaris nodded. "I know her. You want me to get her help, too?"

I nodded. "I can explain the situation. Also, Nulos should meet more organization members."

"Ooh, Executive Nulos? I'd love to pick her brain!"

I looked around, and seeing no one, I said, "Lin."

I heard a chuckle. "Alright, fine." Lin appeared, and Solaris jumped slightly. "How'd you do that?"

I chuckled. "Sol, that's her specialty. Messing with the brain and reading it."

Solaris turned to me. "So you want me to talk to Nulos while Lin goes through her brain."

I nodded. "Lin, don't go too deep, alright? There could be some deep stuff in there…"

She nodded. "I understand. Don't worry, I've done this before." She and Solaris went into my room, and I wondered if we were gonna get any jobs soon. It had been low-key lately, and even though we still had plenty of assets, we needed new business. Domino and Proton and Petrel had all reported steady success in their regions, and there was really nothing to do.

A knock. "Enter." My receptionist entered. "Lisa, you know you could just-"

She placed a note on my desk and walked out without another word. Puzzled, I examined the note, which read, 'I have a job for you. An assassination, and it must be silent, your specialty. If you wish more information, call the number on this note.'

I looked at the number, and dialed the number on my cell phone. It rang twice, then someone picked up. "You got the note."

"I'm gonna say this right now. I don't deal with people I don't know. So either you come in to meet me, or you can arrange a time and place to meet."

Silence. Then "I would expect nothing less from someone of your caliber. I shall be in sometime today. Where should I go?"

"How do I know this isn't tapped?"

"You don't. Just a leap of faith."

"If I show faith on my part, I should see it on your part."

"I will not call Bristir."

I straightened up quickly and spoke in a low tone. "How do you know that name."

"Meet me at the Mauville Game Corner. Then, and only then, I might tell you."

He hung up, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Yeah, I kept asking for excitement, and I was gonna get it…


	24. Chapter 24

I walked down the street, my hat brim down low as I headed towards the Game Corner. It hadn't gone through good times since we hit, and now there was almost no business, which made it the perfect place for a private conversation.

I looked at the building, which had seen better days. I walked in, and there were only a few people in there besides the staff. I looked around for my possible caller, and I noticed that one guy never took his eyes off me, which I took to be something important. I headed towards the counter for prize exchanges and asked the woman working there, "How's business?"

She sighed and gestured at the room. "Take a guess."

I shrugged. "It happens."

She nodded, and I felt someone tap my shoulder and whisper, "Follow me." I turned and followed the guy from the corner to another part of the Corner, and he stopped and turned to me. "You came."

I nodded. "Now, what's this about Bristir?"

He chuckled. "In due time. Anyways, this assignment."

I nodded again. "You said it had to absolutely silent. Why?"

"Because if it's not, you're dead. Simple as that."

"Who's the target?"

"Durus."

I recoiled. "The Sinnoh Regional Captain."

He nodded. "Your assignment is simple. I have his itinerary; kill him and get out of the region, within the day if you can."

I nodded a third time. "Any relevant documents?"

He handed me a manila folder, and I asked, "Payment?"

"500,000. A quarter now, the rest upon completion."

I nodded. "I'll get right on it." I turned to go, and he said, "All the Regional Captains will be there, but your only target is Durus. If any others die, you fail the assignment."

I waved a hand in response and walked out.

**Minor Timelapse**

I walked towards the chopper on the helipad and waved at the pilot to start the engine. "Milas!"

I turned and saw Nulos. "Hey. I'll only be gone for a few days."

She kissed me and smiled. "Good luck."

I nodded and climbed into the chopper, and soon it took off, headed for the Sinnoh region.

**Timelapse**

The pilot landed on top of the Sinnoh HQ where Domino was waiting. I walked out and she grinned. "Good to see you, boss."

I nodded. "You too, Domino. So, since I'm here, what have you done with the place?"

She grinned more. "Got my own cabinet and set up the building. Wanna meet them?"

I nodded again. "I'd love to. Anyone serving with you must be tolerant of you, which is difficult enough for the people that like you."

She made a face, and I chuckled as we went in.

We went into a room that was mostly black, and I asked, "Your office?"

She laughed. "You know me so well." She took a seat, and I took one opposite her. "So, Durus, huh?"

I nodded and said, "Big target. Big money. Enough said."

She pressed a buzzer on her desk. "Senior staff in my office, now."

A few minutes later, several people walked in. Domino and I stood, and they looked at me with a sort of reverence. I glanced at Domino and she said, "I've told them stories of you."

I nodded and turned back to them. "So, you know me. But I don't know you."

A man with spectacles stepped forward. "Milas, sir, it's an honor! Drikel, arms expert and right hand of Domino."

I shook his hand and asked, "Arms expert in what way?"

"Every. I can tell you anything about guns, period."

I nodded. "And what about the rest of you?"

A woman with raven-black hair covering her face said meekly, "I'm Frisin, espionage expert."

I looked at Drikel. "What's up with her?"

"She's shy, even around you. Just give her time. Her work is brilliant, though; she can sneak in anywhere and impersonate anyone."

I looked at her. "So how do you know that this is her true form?"

"We don't. This is just the one we always see her in, so we figure that this is most comfortable."

I nodded and looked at the short man on the right who had a bowl-cut. "And what about you?"

"Origilos, master of cyberspace. I can hack everything."

I nodded, impressed, and Drikel whispered, "Don't make a crack about his height, otherwise he'll tear Rocket's mainframe apart and sic the cops on all of us. His height is more important than the job, so be very careful with what you say."

I nodded. "Got it." I turned to Domino and asked, "Is that everyone?"

She shrugged. "I hired one other guy, but he never shows up."

"What'd you hire him for?"

She blinked. "Um…he just seemed like a decent candidate."

"You've never seen him?"

"Saw him once, but not since then."

I sighed. "Have you had information leaked recently?"

Her eyes widened. "Aw damn, he's a mole!"

I nodded. "Fine this bastard before he screws us all over."

A man walked in and said, "Hey, Domino. Sorry, I've had stuff to do, but now I'm ready to commit to Rocket?"

Domino pulled out her tulip, but I held up my hand. "I got this." I pulled out my pistol and put it against his forehead. "Hi. I'm Milas. You have three seconds to confess to being a mole."

He looked at me. "I'm not a mole!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Uh…Domino can vouch for me?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. I've never seen you work, and information's been leaked, so…"

I pulled the hammer back. "So you were saying?"

He started to sweat. "Why would I confess to being a mole? You'll kill me anyways."

"Not necessarily. We might use you."

He sighed. "Okay, fine. Yeah, I'm a mole, and I report directly to Durus. Satisfied?"

I nodded and pulled the trigger. Blood spattered, and he hit the floor. I pointed at the window behind Domino. "What does the overlook?"

She looked out the window. "The river."

I picked up the body and threw it out the window. Turning back to the others, I said, "Well, this oughta be fun. Who wants to kill Durus?"


	25. Chapter 25

We gathered in the conference room. I sat at the head, Domino sat on my right, Drikel on my left, and the other two just sat. "Alright, so our client has Durus' itinerary for the next few days. For some reason, he wants me to take this kill, so we have to work with that as well." I slid the itinerary down the table, and Frisin picked it up, leafing through it and occasionally chuckling. "Frisin, what's so funny?"

She looked up, her hair still covering her face. "Oh, nothing. Nothing…"

Origilos shook his head. "Whenever she chuckles like that, she's thought of a way to kill someone."

"She's chuckled a lot."

He nodded. "She knows many ways. If she were the one to do this, no problem."

I shrugged. "Gotta work with it. Frisin, what's the best time for me?"

She looked at the itinerary, then back at me. "Two days. He'll be passing through Hearthome, actually." She smiled maliciously. "If you'd like to hear, I might have a plan…"

"Go ahead."

She chuckled. "The convoy drives through the city. The lead car has a malfunction of some sorts. One of the aides asks Durus to step out of his vehicle, and once he's in air, sniper shot to the head."

I nodded. "Simple but effective."

Domino interjected, "She's pretty good with plans."

"Means we have to figure out details…Origilos, hack into his plans and find out the exact route."

He nodded and trotted out. I looked at Frisin. "Aide."

She nodded. "Easy. The tough part might be convincing him to get out of the car."

I nodded and looked at Drikel. "Show me what we got."

He beamed. "Gladly!" He and I got up and left.

A few minutes later, we got to the armory. I nodded approvingly and said, "Sniper rifles?"

He led me over to the back wall, which had a nice array of sniper rifles, with varying strengths and weaknesses. "If this is just a shot from in or on a building onto the nearby street…I suggest this."

He took one and gave it to me. I felt the weight as he said, "That's an SR-25. Decent all around, and ideal for this particular situation."

Origilos walked in and said, "Got the route."

I turned to Drikel. "This is definitely possible. Let me check the route." He nodded as I followed Origilos out.

We got to a computer, and Origilos gestured. "Exact route of the convoy. Enters from the west, exits east."

I examined the map carefully, searching for any particular-hello. I pointed and asked, "What's this?"

He looked at the circular area. "Roundabout."

I nodded slowly. "Get me everything about it, now."

He nodded, and I walked back to the armory, where I nodded to Drikel and said, "Let's do it."

He grinned and nodded. "Good choice. This is a nice, solid rifle."

"Suppressor?"

He pulled out a length of metal and put it on the end of the muzzle. "Should do." He aimed at a target across the room and fired. It hit dead center, and I whistled. "Nice shootin', Tex."

He blew the end of the muzzle. "Just doin' what I do."

I chuckled, and Origilos walked in. "Got the details. The roundabout is completely open, and the nearest building is 100 meters. Perfect for the range of the SR-25, if that's what you're using."

I nodded. "We got everything except one: How do we stop the convoy and make sure he has to get out?"

Drikel snapped his fingers. "Explosive!"

I turned to him. "Car bomb?"

He shook his head. "Land mine."

I shook my head. "No, the client specified silence." I turned to Origilos. "Is he staying in Hearthone overnight?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but hotel won't give you a good shot."

I smirked. "You say that. Get me everything on his hotel. Drikel, go and get Frisin."

They both nodded and walked out, and I looked the SR-25 over. Definitely not a bad model…I heard someone walk in. "Frisin?"

"You said you needed me."

I turned to her. "Maid."

"French?"

I chuckled. "As fun as that would be, no. A maid for the hotel Durus is staying in. Have Origilos show you the uniform."

She nodded and walked out. This was starting to come together…

Domino walked in. "Would you care to step into my office?"

I nodded, and we headed to her office. We walked in, and I shut the door, saying, "This op is coming along well."

"Plan?"

"Hotel."

She nodded. "Hopefully there's a building around there we can use…I'll ask Origilos to check."

"Thanks."

She nodded again, and we sat, waiting for anything new to happen.

A knock. "Enter." Drikel walked in. "What is it?"

"We have a problem."

I stood. "Do tell."

"There's a room in the hotel with no windows, and that's the one booked. In the solid middle of the hotel, so not even material-piercing shots'll work."

"Damn!" I started to pace, then I said to him. "Tell Origilos to also look up the male uniform for anyone working there."

He nodded and walked out, and Domino asked, "You gonna go in with Frisin?"

I shrugged. "Kinda have to. This is one of the only silent options we got, and it's sounding pretty good. You understand."

She nodded. "I don't like it, though. You might get killed."

I smirked. "Occupational hazard. I'm gonna go check handguns." I walked out, leaving Domino to her thoughts.


	26. Chapter 26

A day had passed since we had begun to plan, and it had come along like so: After the Captain and his entourage checked into the hotel, Frisin and I would enter the hotel, claim to be late for work (which would be true, thanks to Origilos hacking the hotel system), go up to Durus' room, tell him room service, and shoot him once he opened the door, getting the hell out after we did so. The tricky part was timing, which would need to be split-second and perfect in order for this to work.

Domino and I sat in her office discussing the matter when all of a sudden, Origilos burst in and nearly screamed, "The convoy's here!"

We both stood, saying, "You sure?"

He nodded. "I hacked into a GPS on one of the cars, and they made better time than usual. He'll be in the hotel tonight only, then he'll be gone."

I nodded. "Time to make this work, then. Operation Breaker has commenced!"

The three of us went our separate ways, and I went to the armory to pick up the guns. Drikel nodded seriously and handed me two handguns. "Dual Colt M1911's. On the off chance out doesn't go as well as planned." I nodded and took the guns, and he said, "Frisin's got them, too, just in case. Oh, almost forgot." He handed me two silencers, and I attached them and nodded to him. "Thanks, Drikel."

He nodded again. "No problem. Knock 'em dead."

I chuckled and walked out, replying with "I plan to."

Frisin met me in the hall and handed me my uniform. "Change quickly. If we can get to the hotel before them, we can be situated quickly."

I nodded and went into a nearby unoccupied room. I came out wearing the yellow bellboy uniform, with Frisin wearing the same shade of yellow dress. I walked down the hall, and she followed me to the garage where Domino waited to drive us. We got in and I could see the nervousness in her face. "Domino, we'll be fine. You know how efficient I am."

She nodded, still sweating. "I know. It's just…a Regional Captain."

I nodded. "I know. I can handle it."

She took a deep breath and was about to say more, but we got to the hotel before she could. I chuckled and said, "See you back here at 20:00 hours." Frisin and I got out, and Domino drove away, giving us less than two hours to pull the job.

According to his itinerary, he would arrive at the hotel at 19:30 hours, or 7:30 P.M. for you non-24 hour people. True to schedule, that's when he showed up, and after he and his entourage checked in, they went up to the room, where a maid was just exiting, making one final check before the guests arrived. She looked over the muscular man with sandy, close-cropped hair and shades as he went in, and Frisin said, "Got him. He's in his room."

"Roger." I headed down to his room as Frisin passed me, checking my watch as I did so. 19:40. Waiting's not a bad idea…don't wanna get caught too fast. On the other hand…

I activated my communicator. "Frisin, radio Domino. Get her here. I'm taking him."

"Roger." The communication cut off, and I knocked on Durus' door. A deep voice answered, "Who is it?"

"Room service."

"I didn't order anything…"

"Compliments of the establishment."

"Hm…" I heard movement, then the muscular man opened the door, only wearing boxers. "Hey, where's-"

I pulled out the Colt and shot him point-blank. Thank God for silencers. Also, one would think he would be more cautious as a Captain…I dragged him back into his room and lied him on the bed, crossing his hands and closing his eyes as I did so. I pulled the covers over him and walked out, headed straight for the lobby.

Frisin met me there, and we were about to walk out when the clerk said, "Hey bellboy, Room 18 wants food."

Without turning to him, I said, "I quit" and quickly walked out to the curb where a black sedan was waiting. Frisin and I got in, and Domino quickly drove off.

Once we got back to HQ, I said to Domino, "Chopper waiting?"

She nodded, and I quickly headed upstairs to change. I stopped by the armory and dropped of the handguns, muttering thanks to Drikel as I went.

I adjusted my suit slightly and walked up to the helipad where, sure enough, the chopper was waiting. I signaled to the pilot, climbed in, and quickly, we were off, back to Hoenn, a job successfully done.


	27. Chapter 27

As the chopper landed on the roof of the Hoenn HQ, I saw a single figure waiting for it. We touched down, and Solaris came up to me. "And?"

I glanced as her as I walked past her and inside. "I'm here. That answer your question?"

"Yeah," she replied as she followed me. "Any casualties?"

"None. In, out, dead."

"That easy?"

"We're professionals. It should be that easy."

"True…oh, by the way, Nulos disappeared."

I froze and spun around. "Define disappeared."

"Haven't seen her since you left. Checked every room in the HQ, including hers."

I gave Solaris a look. "I left _yesterday_. You're telling me that she's nowhere to be found?"

Just as Solaris was about to answer, a switchboard operator poked his head through the door into the building. "We got a hit. Oh, hello, Mr. Milas."

I looked at him. "Talk to me."

He looked at Solaris, who nodded, and he explained, "Got a ping from her cell. It's turned off, but her last call was made from Fortree City, and from the patterns of the calls, she's headed towards Route 120."

I nodded and turned to Solaris. "Road trip."

* * *

><p>As we drove along, I asked Solaris, "So what exactly triggered her to flee like this?"<p>

She shrugged. "Not sure. She, Lin and I were talking, and when the topic turned to you, she just…shut down. She stopped talking and quietly asked us to leave. We did, and we haven't seen her since."

"Hm…well, hopefully we can find her. And some answers."

Solaris nodded, and as we got to Mt. Pyre, I noticed a person standing on the roadside. A certain female.

I pulled over and got out. "Nulos? I hear that you've been gone since I left. What's up with that?"

She turned to me, then turned away. "You're back."

The flatness in her voice worried me. "Yeah. You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just…gonna take a swim."

"In your clothes?" I looked her over, and that was when I noticed the weights she was tying around her waist. I looked up sharply and said, "Nulos, what are you doing?"

"Resigning."

"That requires a piece of paper, not your death!"

She looked at me, her brown eyes fiery and piercing. "I can't keep doing this. I have no problem with crime, but worrying about whether or not you're coming back…and staying faithful…"

My eyes widened behind my shades. "Nulos, I'm a gentleman! I would never!"

She sighed. "I truly wish I could believe that." She looked away, and I heard annoyed sigh from behind me. I heard Solaris get out of the car, and I saw her walk up to Nulos and slap her.

"Get over yourself."

Nulos looked at her with surprise, and Solaris said, "This isn't the way to deal with it. It's gonna hurt the living more than the dead if you do this. Milas has never cheated on you, even though he has had plenty of opportunities. So you can either leave…or stick around a while."

Nulos looked at her, then out at the water. "Let me die. Please."

"Why? Give me one good reason."

Nulos shook her head. "I just can't handle this anymore."

"Handle what?"

"Life. Life's ben shit, and even though Rocket's improved it…it's still not great."

Solaris slapped her again. "News flash: Life sucks! It's never gonna be perfect! So you can either suck it up and deal with it, or take the weak way out. Your choice." And with that, she turned on her heel and got back into the car. I blinked at the…I believe ferocity is the word…

I looked at Nulos, who's brown eyes had gone from fiery to cloudy and questioning. She looked at the weights, then out at the water, then at me. She pulled out her knife-the same knife she tried to mug me with so long ago-and placed it on the pier. "Look after it for me, would you?"

I closed my eyes and bowed my head, saying quietly, "Is there anything I can say to change your mind?"

She shook her head, and I removed my shades and let them go, letting them hit the ground, looking at her with my piercing green eyes. "You're absolutely sure."

She nodded, slower this time, and I sighed, holding back tears. "Very well. Executive Nulos…you are hereby released from your position. You are free to do as you wish."

She nodded one final time and stepped off the edge of the dock, sinking like a rock. I picked up my shades, put them on, and picked up the knife, pocketing it. I turned and walked slowly back to the car. I got in and whispered, "Solaris, you're promoted."

"I can see the glittering. Let me drive."

We switched sides, she started up the car, and the tears fell free as we drove back to Mauville.


	28. Chapter 28

A knock on my office door. I didn't respond, and Solaris walked in anyways. "Milas, it's been two days. Not to be soulless, but-"

"Oh, like being soulless is new to you?"

She blinked, slightly surprised at my bitter tone. "Milas, she's gone. You have to move on."

I sighed. "People keep telling me to forget her, to move on, to just keep going with my life…how can I, huh? How can I keep going?!"

I turned my chair towards the window. "I'm not gonna say I can't live without her, but…I miss her terribly."

"You think you're the only one?"

I turned my chair back and was greeted by the sight of Heris, back for a few days from Kalos. "Dude, I was there with you and her when we started Rocket back up again. You seriously think you gotta take this on yourself?"

I nodded, and he said, "Idiot. Look, we can help you get over this. Things happen-"

I stood angrily, slamming my hands against my desk. "Not things like this!"

He blinked, and I pushed, "Heris, if she died on an op, that would be different! She killed herself! And that means I was part of that! Do you not get it yet?! I KILLED NULOS!" I slumped into my chair, wanting to cry. But the tears never came; I suppose I cried myself out on the drive back.

Heris looked at me, then at Solaris, then back at me. "Get over yourself. You're not the single most important person on the planet. So I suggest you get over it before someone beats the shit out of you, probably Solaris. You're allowed to grieve…just don't let it consume you." He turned and walked out, and Solaris gave a low whistle. "Damn…"

I blinked, the shock from his seriousness still affecting me. I looked at Solaris. "Did he just…"

"Yeah."

"And then he…"

"Yeah."

"Oi."

She nodded. "Hey, someone was gonna say it eventually. Now…let's get back to work."

I nodded, and she walked out, leaving me alone in my office. At least…that's how it appeared.

"Lin." She appeared and said, "So much turmoil in his mind…what exactly did you expect me to find?"

I shrugged. "Purpose."

"Well, I found that, but not a source. You'll have to ask him yourself." Linderis walked out, and I sighed. This was getting…complicated. I stood and left my office, headed down to the armory where I assumed Heris would be. And I assumed correctly.

Heris was chatting with the armorers when he caught my eye. He gestured for the armorers to hold on and came over to me. "You okay now?"

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you. Now, answer me something."

"Okay."

"Why do you owe Rocket?"

He grimaced slightly and looked away. "Touchy subject."

I stomped my foot. "Dammit, Heris, tell me now!"

He looked at me with slight shock and said, "My parents are dead thanks to Rocket."

He began to walk out, and I said, "Wait, do what?"

He turned to me. "Oh, I suppose you want details."

I nodded, annoyed, and he said, "Mom was a prostitute with a smoking problem, and Dad was a junkie and drunkie. When I was five, the three of us went to the bank so Dad could try to get a loan. Again. Anyways, Rocket busts in and demands everyone to hit the floor. Everyone except my parents did, and they stood, my dad expressing his annoyance at their interruption." He chuckled. "Dumbass got himself and my mother killed."

"Heris…"

He chuckled again. "Don't get all apologetic on me. I never liked my parents, and I was happier after they died. That's why I owe Rocket…and always will." He walked out without another word, and a few minutes later, I heard a chopper start up and take him to Kalos. I went up to my office and sat back in my chair, taking this new information in. Heris definitely owed Rocket…and I was definitely glad he was with us.

My desk phone rang, and I answered, "Milas."

"Milas, it's Domino. I heard about Nulos…"

I sighed. "Yeah. So is that the only reason for your call?"

"Hm? Oh, no, it's not. Turn on the news."

"One sec." I put the phone down and turned on a TV, showing the news channel which was currently featuring a story on-

I picked the phone back up. "The media's got it now."

"Yeah. Durus' death is now national news. Better claim responsibility now, otherwise small crooks are gonna go nuts."

"You have the number for the national news base?"

She told it to me, I thanked her, and I hung up, dialing another number. They picked up after the first ring. "Regional News Extraordinaire."

"What's your name?"

"Come again?"

"Just answer the question."

"Uh…Elity Ruesum, Eli for short. Why?"

"Eli, you're about to be promoted."

"What makes you say that?"

"Get all the senior newspeople over to you, right now."

"Uh…one sec." Silence for a minute. Then "Lead producer Hurim Limim speaking."

"Put Eli back on."

He did so, and I said, "Elity Ruesem, you are now the news contact for Team Rocket. We claim responsibility for the assassination of Durus."

Silence. "Rocket is dead."

"It was. It's been revived, and I am it's new leader."

"What's your name?"

I chuckled. "My name…it shall not be known to you, but for media purposes, I am…Striker."

"Very well. You, the leader of Team Rocket Striker, claim responsibility for Durus' assassination. Do I have all of that down correct?"

"Yes. And whenever responsibility is to be claimed for an event, if it is Rocket, I shall only talk to you. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Good. Now go and circulate; it's not quite the Radio Tower, but it works." I hung up and watched the world learn of Rocket's revival.


	29. Chapter 29

I'd like to think Giovanni would have been proud to see this, had I not blown his brains out in Lilycove. I had several TV's going on various news channels in our communication room, and they were all reporting the same thing: Rocket was back, more ready to take over than ever.

I'll spare you all the boring details; they were all going ballistic. What with Durus' assassination and the announcement, security forces around the world started working double-time. My brother, his light-blue eyes and black hair colder than ever, even gave a statement, which went as such: "I, as Regional Colonel of these regions, promise not to stop until this organization is stopped once more, this time for good. We will hunt them, we will find them…and we will end them." He walked off without answering any questions.

I gave a low whistle and ate another handful of popcorn. "He might be getting serious for once…"

"You gonna do anything?"

I turned to Solaris and handed her the popcorn, and she took some. "Dunno yet. Gotta see what they do next…"

My cell phone rang, and I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Milas?"

"Domino. What is it?"

"You didn't answer as usual…"

"Playing it safe. They could figure out this is mine eventually."

"Touché…so you're Striker now?"

"For the purpose of electronic communication, yes."

"Well, Striker…get me out of here!"

I blinked. "Say what?"

"Sinnoh's getting crazy since Durus' death, and I don't think I can handle it. Please, I wanna come back!"

I chuckled. "Domino, I thought you of all people would love a challenge."

"Not when they're going through building registries!"

"I put it under a dummy corporation. Don't worry about it."

I heard her growl, and I said, "Fine. You really wanna come back home?"

"Yes, please!"

I sighed. "Fine. Get here soon."

I put my phone away, and the door opened to reveal Domino, who pretty much screamed, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

I blinked and sighed, rubbing my temples. "Sol, you okay with getting Sinnoh?"

She grinned. "Gladly."

"Good. Pack your bags and get there, quick. And don't insult the short guy, he could crash us."

She gave me an odd look, and I waved her off. She left, and Domino ran up to me and hugged me. Naturally, I shoved her off and pulled my gun on her. Reflex, of course.

"What the hell, Milas?!"

I chuckled and put the gun away. "That was fun. And also reflex. So watch it."

She nodded, and I watched her curls bounce. "Yeah, I know, boss. So whatcha want me to do?"

I thought a moment. "Check in with Proton and Petrel in Unova."

She nodded and left, and I watched her go. She closed the door, and I shook myself out of it and tuned in to the TV-

"I speak directly to Striker now."

I whirled to one of the TV's and turned all the other ones off. Bristir at another press conference…"If you give yourself up now, we shall be merciful." Like hell. "You need not continue this reign of terror. I came here to Regional News Extraordinaire to tell you this, and-"

I immediately dialed the station, and they picked up quickly. "Regional News Extraordinaire."

"Elity Ruesum, please."

"Who is this?"

"Just give the phone to him, please."

"Alright." Silence. "Elity Ruesum here."

"It's Striker. Get Bristir on the phone and put it on speaker."

"Yes, sir!" Silence. I saw Bristir look off camera, his eyes widen, and he rushed off camera, and it followed him to the phone, which he looked at and said, "Who is this?"

I coughed and said in a different voice, "Striker. The leader of Team Rocket."

He took a breath. This was kinda fun to watch…"Have you heard my plea?"

"Yeah, I'm watching you right now. Wave to the camera, bastard."

He looked into the camera and looked back at the phone. "I assume that means you won't relent…"

"On the contrary. This may not seem smart, but I'm throwing caution to the wind! I gonna kill all the Regional Captains one by one, ending with you! And you know why? Because you pissed me off!"

He was silent a moment, his eyes calculating madly. He said slowly, "You don't need to do this-"

"Shut up! Get it through your thick skull, Bristir! I am the leader of an organization that does what it pleases. No one can convince us to reform! If people want to reform, it's because they want to!"

His eye twitched slightly. "Say again?"

"People reform because they wanna get out! Kinda how you gave yourself over to the cops as soon as you could!"

He gasped. "How did you know that."

I laughed. "I know everything, bastard! I know that you always loved good, you always hated Rocket-" a thought flashed across my mind "-and I know your brother Milas!"

He gasped. "What about him?!"

I laughed more. "He couldn't make the cut! He tried to prove himself in our new society, but he failed, so…"

He looked at the phone in shock for a moment. "You…killed…my…brother…"

I shrugged. "Well, if you can call shoving weights down his throat and throwing him into a body of water killing, then yeah, he be dead. Not like you care."

He bowed his head. "I thought…I thought he could be reformed. I thought I could save him…"

I got more serious. "News flash: He was evil to the core. He could never be reformed, and we killed him simply because he wanted to take his evil elsewhere and he had loose lips."

Bristir picked up the phone. "Now listen here, you bastard. When I find you, I'm gonna kill you and avenge my brother's death! You hear me, Striker?!"

I chuckled. "If you find me. Now you hear me…" I hung up. "Now you don't."

I watched his expressions change drastically from anger to rage to sadness, finally settling on cold and distant. "Striker…you shall die painfully. Mark my words."

I looked at the screen. "Come and get me."


	30. Chapter 30

I walked into my office and almost ran into Domino. "Dammit, Domino! Why are you in my way?"

She squealed in surprise. "Sorry! Just finished with Proton and Petrel…and they wanna separate."

I looked at her. "Huh?"

"Petrel wants his own region, and the two have decided that Proton keeps Unova and Petrel go elsewhere. With your approval, of course…"

"You already hang up?"

She handed me her phone, and I said, "Striker here. Crude, you're headed for Kimono. Atom, you stay in Futurama."

I prayed to whatever deity that be that they weren't idiots. "Crude here," resounded Petrel's voice, and I sighed in relief. "Crude headed straight for Kimono. Over and out, Striker."

He hung up, and as I handed Domino her phone, she looked at me like I had gone nuts. "What the hell?"

"Crude is Petrel because it sounds like petroleum sorta, Atom is Proton, Kimono is Johto, and Futurama is Unova because it's kinda futuristic. Oh, by the way, you're now Black Tulip."

She nodded. "That sounded complicated, but it works. What do we call Heris and Kalos?"

"Debt and Weapon."

"Weapon?"

"There's an old legend in Kalos about using a Legendary Pokémon for a weapon that caused catastrophic damage across the region."

She nodded again. "And Hoenn?"

"HQ. Simple."

She asked, "What now, then?"

I chuckled. "We plot the assassination of the other Regional Captains, ending with…him."

"Bristir?"

I nodded, and she sighed. "Still can't say his name, eh?"

"Not without throwing up a little."

"I'll get to work on dossiers and such." She walked out, and I sat at my desk. I took a breath and noticed a note in front of my computer. I picked it up and read 'I like you. If you wanna talk about it…hey, you're the boss. Whenever you wanna. –B.T.'

I put the note away, wondering why Domino was choosing now of all times to tell me this…eh. Not my biggest priority right now.

My secretary walked in, and I said, "Lisa, again, you can just buzz me on the phone if you need something."

She blinked behind her tortoise-shell glasses. "I thought this rather important."

I nodded. "What is it?"

"Linderis and Yilon wish to see you."

"When?"

They appeared behind her, answering my question. "Never mind, you may go."

She nodded, turned around, and screamed loudly. Lin and Yilon held in their laughter until she left, and they just busted a gut. I waited for them to stop, and when they did, I asked, "You need something?"

They looked at each other, then at me. Yilon spoke first. "We want an op."

"Together?"

They nodded, and Lin said, "Preferably a few days long, requiring us to share a hotel room."

I blinked. "Guys, there's no policy forbidding coworker dating and more."

They blinked. "Really?"

I nodded and immediately wished I hadn't. Instantly, they were all over each other, clothing flying all over the room. I stood and shouted, "Hey! If you wanna get it on, do it in the barracks!"

They stood and gathered their clothing quickly, rushing out, towards the barracks, I assumed. Domino walked in, looking back the way they came. "What-"

"Don't worry about it. You have the report?"

She nodded and handed me a thick folder. "You got it this fast?"

She nodded, and I said, "Nice job, Tulip. You may go."

She nodded again and went to go, and a thought crossed my mind. "Actually, hold on a sec."

She looked at me, and I said, "Shut the door and take a seat, please."

I saw nervousness grow in her eyes, but she did as I asked. Once she sat, I pulled out the note, and her nervousness grew more. "Uh…that's not what it looks like."

I looked at the note, then at her. "It looks like a note saying that you like me and suggesting that we should talk about it."

"Oh. Then it's exactly what you think it is."

I leaned back in my chair. "You don't need to be worried. You're not in trouble or anything."

She exhaled, and I asked, "Why tell me this now? Hell, why do you even feel this?"

She blinked. "Just…Mossdeep."

I gave her a curious look, and she continued, "I assume you remember the job. Anyways, when I danced for the guy…I wasn't dancing for him. I was dancing for you because I know you could see it."

She had been getting quieter with every word she said. "So, when you asked him if he liked what he saw…"

She looked at me shyly, blushing. "I was talking to you."

"Domino, how long has this been going on?"

She shrugged. "Since I joined. When you showed Solaris your kind side…it awakened something in me. During the Mossdeep job, it grew, and…" She didn't finish.

I stood, and she stayed in her chair, most likely out of embarrassment. I went over to her, and she looked up at me. "Am I in trouble?"

I shook my head. "Just…don't let it impede your work, okay?"

She stood slowly and looked at me again. "Do you…feel the same?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Yeah, it was fun to watch you strip-" she blushed "-but I don't know if there's anything emotional there. Give me time, alright?"

She nodded and walked out, closing the door softly behind her. I looked at the door for a moment, then picked up the report and skimmed through it, assembling a hitlist in my head, which went as such: Garede (Hoenn), Yeriti (Unova), Criemi (Kalos), Arions (Johto), Liminisi (Kanto), and finally Bristir. The report said that their annual meeting had occurred a week ago, so that wasn't an option anytime soon. As options whirled through my mind, I heard the door open. Out of habit, I pulled out my pistol, aimed it in that general direction, and said in a bored tone, "You have three seconds until I kill you."

"But…you wouldn't kill me."

I turned sharply, dropping the pistol in shock. "Nulos?"

She nodded, looking me over with those brown eyes. "Yeah, it's me."

"But…you killed yourself. You tied weights around your waist and took a swim near Mt. Pyre."

She took hold of me, and I felt something inside me grow. "I won't leave you…"

She went to kiss me, but I pushed her off. "No…no, you're dead!"

She pouted. "Leaving me so soon? I thought you would love this…"

"I would if you were alive. But you're gone! I have to live with that…"

"No you don't."

I blinked, and she continued, "You could kill yourself too and join me here…"

For one moment, I was tempted. Then Domino walked in, making Nulos disperse. "Wait, Nulos, don't leave!"

Domino looked around. "Uh…"

I shook my head and sat on one of the chairs. "Sorry…I saw Nulos…hallucination…"

She walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Still haven't gotten over her yet, huh?"

"I thought I did." I looked up at Domino, and I saw Nulos behind her, mouthing the words 'Be happy with her.' Then she disappeared again. I stood, looking into Domino's purple eyes, and took her hands. She looked down, then back into my eyes. "Milas…you thought about it?"

In response, I kissed her deeply. We held it for a minute, then broke it, and I smiled. "Yeah, you could say that."

She chuckled and cleared her throat, saying, "I should be going."

She went to go, but I took her hand gently and pulled her towards me, saying softly, "I just did something that made you incredibly happy." I kissed her again and traced a finger down her front. "You really wanna leave?"


	31. Chapter 31

Domino took a shaky breath as I drifted my finger up her front towards her breasts. "Milas…we have to work."

I chuckled. "Yes. But as this is new, we can put it off slightly…" My finger traced across her breasts, and she gasped lightly. I chuckled again and gently led her to the bedroom (no, not that. This may be fun, but I wait a while before doing anything among those lines).

I shut the door behind us and locked it, turning to Domino. "There. Now we won't be disturbed."

Domino took another shaky breath, and I said, "Hey, got something for you."

She looked at me curiously, and I went over to a stereo and turned it on, playing the same song from the strip club at a more reasonable volume. I turned to her, and her blush grew. "Only if you want to. If you're uncomfortable-"

"Sit down and shut up."

I blinked at her ferocity, decided I liked it, and did so. She smiled, listened to the music for a minute (which was on loop), and began to strip for me. There are perks for being the boss…

The first thing to go was that tight black shirt she always wore, revealing the black lace bra that almost couldn't hold back that more-than-decent rack of hers. The pants followed next, revealing panties of the same lace as the bra. She would have done more, but I turned the music off.

She looked at me, puzzled. "I thought you were liking it."

I nodded and stood. "I am. But it's my turn to do something now…"

She blinked, and I could see her mind whirling with possibilities. I went up to her and pushed her back onto the bed gently. She chuckled and sat on the bed in a seductive position, sticking her rack out even more and saying quietly, "Want some?"

I nodded. "Yeah, looks good." A thought crossed my mind. "Domino, can I ask you something?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"Um…are you into being tied up?"

She blinked, and I tried to cover my tracks. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it's personal and-"

"Yes."

I blinked, and she stood in front of me, wiggling her breasts seductively. "Have I been that bad of a girl…Master?"

At the word master, I felt a chill go through my body. I looked her over and said, "Not yet, my pet. But when it does happen…you should be prepared." I went into Nulos' old room and brought out the material box, filled with ropes, gags, and the like. Domino stared wide-eyed. "Uh…"

"Nulos was a big fan."

"Ah."

"Any preferences?"

She thought a moment, wiggling her breasts seductively again. I chuckled. "Got it."

She grinned, and I said, "Turn around, hands behind your back."

She did so, and I bound her wrists and forearms together, making it impossible for her to use them. I tried an elbow tie, but they didn't quite reach comfortably, so I decided against it.

I tied a breast harness on her, which hugged her breasts and made them stick out more, and she moaned a little. On instinct, I placed my hands on her breasts and began to massage them. She moaned even more, and when I went faster, she moaned more, until I finally stopped. She looked at me and pouted. "A little more?"

I shook my head. "My decision. Keep your shirt on-oh, wait…"

She smiled a little at me. "At least take my panties off."

"Why?"

She blushed even more and whispered something I couldn't hear. "Say again?"

She looked at me, lust clouding her eyes. "So you can use them if I need to be punished."

I blinked. "Very well."

She smiled, and I picked her up and gently laid her on the bed. She turned to look at me, and I bound her ankles and legs on each side of the knee. I also tied a crotch rope and pulled it, giving her pleasure pretty much anytime she moved. She got that quickly and moved around a lot, her moans reaching fever pitch.

"Y'know, you're getting loud."

Domino looked at me, and I picked up her panties and socks, rolled them into a ball, and stuffed them into her mouth. She retched a little at the taste, and I quickly shoved a purple ballgag into her mouth to keep her from spitting it out. She glared at me, and I decided I wasn't liking that either, so I grabbed a few bandannas and blindfolded her.

I got up from the bed and looked over my work. Sure, it wasn't fancy or anything, but it worked. A solid gag, solid ropework, and she was loving every minute of it. I picked her up again, and she squealed slightly. "Don't worry, it's still me."

She exhaled in relief, and I kissed her gagged lips. She tried to return it best she could, and I sat on the bed, sitting her next to me. "Domino…thank you."

She looked at me, probably puzzled, and I continued, "For coming back to the organization, for being there when people need it…for trusting me enough to do this to you and not sell you."

She squealed in fear, and I chuckled, slapping her rear lightly. "Sorry, little crime joke. No, I would never sell you."

She exhaled again, and I pulled the crotch rope again, enjoying the moans of pleasure coming from her. I went over to the box, looking for something in particular, and I found it. I went back over to Domino, who was still struggling, and I turned on the vibrator, immediately getting her attention. She looked in my general direction, and I slung her over on shoulder and carried her into Nulos' room, placing her gently on the bed. I looked at the vibrator, twitched the crotch rope aside, and inserted the vibrator, replacing the crotch rope. She cried out even more, and I could tell she was having an orgasm (personal experience, I guess. Hell if I actually know how I know). Once she came down from her high, I removed the vibrator (with a dissatisfied grunt from her) and untied her arm bindings. I got closer to her and said, "Untie yourself and get back to work. And…this is your new room. Can't wait to see that lovely lace bra again…" I squeezed her breasts and walked out, leaving her to her own devices.

**Yeah, I know it's more personal than organization, but I felt like a chapter like this. Please, leave reviews!**


	32. Chapter 32

I went into the conference room, followed by my other senior staff, including Domino, who shut the door and sat next to me. I looked over the ones still here, who were Yilon, Linderis, Arianna, Archer, and Domino. "Alright, you have files. Our objective is to assassinate each Regional Captain one by one, ending with…him."

Archer started leafing through the file, and Arianna asked, "Who's the first?"

"Garede of Hoenn. Sooner he's gone, the faster we can get to work."

She nodded, and Yilon asked, "So how do we make him…disappear?"

I chuckled. "That's why y'all are here. We need to figure out a time and place to get this guy. Once anyone has an idea-"

"Got it."

I looked at Linderis. "That was quick."

She placed the file on the table. "It's very simple. Mind games."

I looked at her, interested. "Go on."

"He has minor depression, correct?"

"Yes. You can't play on that, though…he has some of the best therapy."

Linderis gave an evil grin, and I instantly liked her more. "Therapy means nothing if I get to him."

I nodded slowly. "But surely there's gotta be more than you. You alone can't break him."

She nodded. "I know what can, though. Give me a unit, and he'll be dead within a week."

I shook my head. "Too long. We should kill him soon…but if one of the other Captains-"

"Criemi has a more advanced case. I can kill him within days."

"Fly to Kalos, get familiar with Heris. Sooner he's dead, the better."

She nodded and left the room, and Archer said, "Garede, though…"

I nodded. "I know, he's still on the table…"

Arianna asked, "He has a chauffeur, correct?"

"No. He drives himself everywhere…oh, you're on to something."

She nodded. "We tamper with the car somehow."

Archer interrupted. "Mechanic checks it every time it comes in."

"Bribe the mechanic."

"Been tried, about two years ago. Garede noticed the change somehow and got the guy caught."

I snapped my fingers. "We get our own mechanic in."

"Staff's vetted for two weeks before hiring."

I sighed. "This guy doesn't like making it easy, does he…you have a suggestion?"

He nodded. "He still gets an itinerary. We change it to get him to go to a remote area, we kill him, we hide the evidence."

I nodded. "They'll know it's us."

"Duh. That's kinda the point. But as long as they don't find this HQ, we're golden."

A thought crossed my mind. "Does the car have GPS?"

"For some odd reason, no."

I spread my hands. "Then he comes here. Someone calls him, says they have a tip, offer this location as a place, he comes…he dies. Easy."

Archer nodded. "Could work…one sec." He pulled out his cell phone and a piece of paper, dialed a number, and waited a minute. "Hello, the Rocket Hotline?"

I mouthed to Domino 'There's a hotline?' and she nodded, shrugging.

Archer continued. "Yeah, can you connect me to Garede? This information is sensitive and can only be told to him." He listened. "Thanks." A little more silence. "Hello, Captain Garede? Yes, I have some information for you…but not on the phone, it could be tapped. Come to this location as soon as possible." He told him our address and listened. "No, thank you, sir. I want these people taken down just as much as you do." He hung up and grinned. "I'll have the receptionist send him up to your office."

I nodded. "And the sensors in the elevator?"

"Detect and destroy any bugs. Also detects guns."

I stood, and they did as well. "Well…I'll meet the Captain. You guys figure out a way to kill the others, Yeriti first, if possible. Dismissed."

They dispersed, and I went into my office. I heard someone follow me in, and I turned. "Domino."

She grinned and walked up to me, tracing a finger down my chest. "Had to see how my hunk was doing."

I chuckled and kissed her. "Thanks for checking on me, my beautiful woman." A thought crossed my mind again. "Wanna go out?"

She looked at me. "Like a date?"

"Yeah. After all this."

"You mean after you kill Bristir?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we'll have a proper date. Can you be patient?"

She nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Garede's here."

I hit the buzzer. "Thanks, Lisa." I looked at Domino. "Go. Quickly."

She nodded and went to go, and I gave her a playful spank on the rear. She chuckled and went out, and I sat back in my chair. "Garede…"

Someone knocked. "Who is it."

"Garede. Hoenn Regional Captain."

"Ah, you've been expected. Come in."

A man walked in, and I looked him over. Short black hair, reflective sunglasses, and a seemingly perpetual frown on his face. He wore a green pinstripe suit and tie, and I noticed no bulge in his jacket. I gestured towards a seat, and he sat. "You have a tip for me?"

"Yes."

"It better be good; I don't often make errands like this."

I nodded, pulled out my pistol, and aimed it at his forehead. "Exactly how stupid are you?"

He didn't change. "Depends. How do you mean?"

"Did you bring any guns here?"

He shrugged. "Maybe a few dozen soldiers."

My gaze darkened. "Call them off and I won't blow your brains out."

"You'll do it anyways."

I shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe I'll take you hostage. People pay a lot for Captains…"

He pursed his lips. "Not really. As Captain, I'm not up for ransom. Otherwise criminals might try stuff like this again."

I nodded. "Good point. Did you give them this address?"

He nodded, and I chuckled. He looked at me oddly, and I said, "I'm not an idiot. I had the radio frequency scrambled."

"You don't know our frequency."

I pulled out a radio and said into it, "Units, report in."

"Unit 1 reporting in. Any trouble?"

"No, no trouble. Sorry to bother you." I cut the transmission, and I saw his gaze worsen a bit. "So anyways…"

He sighed. "They're not coming…"

I shook my head. "Sorry to say. So, you'll die before you give up yourself? Is that correct?"

He took off his mirrored shades to reveal cold blue eyes. "Shoot me now."

"Before I do…one thing."

"What's that?"

I smirked. "My name's Milas."

His gaze turned to shock, and I pulled the trigger, making him jerk back in the chair. I sighed and picked him up, carrying him over to the window, and I tossed him out, hearing the sound of the water surface breaking. "Well, that was easy. Time to look to the next one."


	33. Chapter 33

I sat in my office chair, looking at the bloodstains disapprovingly. I hit the buzzer. "Lisa, send in a clean-up team, would you? Got some unattractive blood here…"

"Right away."

The connection cut out, and I sat back in my chair. Someone knocked, and I said, "Enter." Arianna walked in. "What is it, Arianna?"

She went to sit in the chair, then noticed the bloodstain. "Garede's gone, then?"

I nodded. "You can stand. What is it?"

"Yeriti."

"You have a way to kill him?"

"I might."

I nodded. "Do tell."

"We nuke him."

I gave her a look. "Contrary to popular belief, we don't want everyone dead, just our target."

"Radiation poisoning."

"How do we manage that?"

She grinned. "There's a nuclear power plant in the Giant Chasm, in the northeast of Unova. Relatively unpopulated, so low body count. We tamper with it somehow, it goes critical, Yeriti somehow gets caught and dies."

I nodded slowly. "One problem. How do we get him to go there?"

"Annual inspection. Two days."

I grinned. "Nice, Arianna. Good work."

She nodded. "Thanks. I'll contact Proton." She left and shut the door, leaving me to think about the other Captains.

Someone knocked. "Enter." Archer walked in and looked at the bloodstain. "New décor?"

"What is it."

"I think I may know how to kill Arions."

"The Johto Captain…yeah, I'm interested. Do tell."

He grinned. "Malfunction."

"Archer, you simply must be more specific."

"He has a pacemaker. We hack it, up the beats…falls where he stands."

I blinked. "That's brilliant. Do it, quickly."

He nodded and walked out, shutting the door. Wow, this was so much easier than I thought…

Someone knocked again. "Yes?" Yilon walked in, and I held up a finger. "Let me guess: You have a way to kill Liminisi."

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

I sighed. "Lucky guess. Tell."

He smiled. "I make him…disappear."

I rolled my eyes. "Horrible pun aside, how?"

"Well…I can teleport me and him to Pewter City, take him into the nearby cave…and kill him."

I gave him a look. "Give me something better than that."

He was about to speak, but Domino burst in. "Turn on the TV!"

I did, and it was featuring a story on the death of the Kanto Regional Captain, Liminisi. I looked at Yilon, and he shook his head. My cell phone rang, and I answered, "Yeah?"

"Striker, it's Crude."

Petrel. "Crude, what is it?"

"Well, since I was close, I figured I'd do you a favor."

"You? You killed Liminisi?"

"Yes. Quite easy, actually…oil slick on Cycling Road. Guy never saw it coming."

I gave a low whistle. "Good job, Crude. Keep up the good work." I hung up and looked at Yilon and Domino. "Well, he's dead. Just gotta worry about the others."

They nodded and walked out, and someone else rang. I answered with, "Yeah?"

"Striker, it's Psycho here."

Linderis. "What is it?"

"Criemi's dead."

"That was quick."

"Yeah, speed surprised me, too. Shall I come back to HQ?"

"Yes. Good job." I hung up and let out a breath. Damn, these guys were dropping like flies…too damn easy. I smirked to myself. Sometimes easy was nice…as long as Bristir wasn't like this.

My phone rang again. Jeez…I picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Striker."

Arianna. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Yeriti came to the plant early. And it went up like a Roman candle. He's dead."

Jeez…"Good job. Report back to base." I hung up. Really easy…

Archer walked in. "Let me guess…Arions is dead."

He blinked. "How'd you know?"

"Good news travels fast. Get."

He left, and I took a breath. I knew I wanted them dead…I just didn't think it would be so fast or easy.

I picked up my phone and dialed a number. "Regional News Extraordinaire."

"Elity Ruesum, please."

"Right away." Silence. "Elity here. That you, Striker?"

"Yes it is. As you may well be aware, all the Regional Captains are dead except for Bristir. Team Rocket takes responsibility for all of them, understand?"

"Understood. So…does that mean you're going after Bristir now?"

"It does."

"Will you claim responsibility for his death?"

"One thing at a time. First let the world know their protectors are almost gone. We'll burn bridges once we get to them." I hung up and took a breath. Someone called again, and I answered. "What."

"Striker."

"Elity, I told you-"

"I'm not Elity."

I pondered this for a minute. "Bristir."

"That's correct, you bastard. You've killed the other Regional Captains, but I will not die among them. I will nail your ass."

"How did you contact me?"

"Redial on the news phone. Simple."

I nodded. "Bristir, how exactly do you plan to find me?"

"Simple. We already have one of your associates."

I sat up. "Who?!"

"As, a little slip of emotion, hm? Don't worry, she's fine."

I took a breath. "Has she told you her name?"

"I'll let you discover that. She's here with me."

Silence. Then Solaris' voice came over the phone. "Hey, boss."

I closed my eyes. "Sol…how'd you get caught?"

"I got sloppy…he wants an exchange. Me for you."

"Where and when?"

"Tomorrow. Noon. Slateport Docks."

Oh, the irony. Where this whole adventure began, it would end, one way or another. "Is the phone on speaker?"

"No."

"Put it on."

A moment passed. "There you go."

"Bristir, I accept. I shall come alone, and you must, too. Bring nothing except the girl, and I will give myself up."

I could hear the smirk. "Very good. Very good indeed…I'll see you then." He hung up, and I took a breath. I looked over at my briefcase, Shi, which hadn't seen much action. I patted it and said, "You're on deck.


	34. Chapter 34

I gathered my things together, and with Shi in hand, went to go. Almost.

"You can't go!"

Archer was standing in my way. "I can and must. Unless you want Sol to die."

He sighed. "If you die, will Heris take over?"

"Yes, but I've told him how good you and Arianna are. He'll take advice when he needs it."

Archer gave me a look. "Well…if you're absolutely sure…then good luck, Milas. And godspeed."

I shook his hand and took the elevator down. As I walked out towards the garage, I looked back towards the receptionist. "John…see ya."

"Are you going somewhere, Mr. Milas?"

"Yeah. And I don't know if I'll be back…so stick around for me, would you?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir!"

I chuckled and went out to the garage.

I looked over the decent variety of vehicles when I heard a cough from behind me. I turned to see Domino. "Hey."

She looked at me. "I'm gonna hold you to it."

I smiled. "Our date? As soon as I get back, alright? Won't take long."

She smiled and pulled me into a kiss. We enjoyed that for a minute, then I broke it. "I have to get to the rendezvous. Otherwise Solaris dies."

"They wouldn't kill her. He's a policeman; Policemen have rules."

I shrugged. "He might be above it. I dunno. Time to find out." I climbed into the car and pulled out, leaving a very distraught Domino.

I inhaled the salty sea air, looking around. "Striker."

I turned to Bristir, who was holding Solaris by one arm. "Bristir."

He nodded, his blue eyes colder than ever. "You for her. What's with the briefcase?"

"I take it with me for business deals. Do you mind?"

He shook his head. "I don't see a problem with that. You two will change places, one step at a time. Any funny business…you both die."

I nodded. "I understand. Solaris, do nothing."

She scowled but remained silent. Bristir let go of her, and he said, "Step."

One.

"Step."

Two.

"Step."

Three. Solaris and I were close…

"Step."

Four. Solaris and I were next to each other. I held up a finger, signaling for him to wait, and whispered to Solaris, "You alright? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine…is that Shi?"

"Yeah."

"Don't. There's a sniper on every surface around here. You kill him, you die."

"Thanks for the warning…"

"Step!"

Five.

"Step."

Six.

"Step."

Seven. Almost to Bristir…

"Step."

Eight. There he was…

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

I did so, and as he moved in, a thought crossed my mind. "You will let Solaris go, right? You won't have a sniper take her down?"

He shook his head. "Did you come here in a car?"

"Yes."

"Throw her the keys. You won't need them." I did so, and he said into a radio, "All units, stand down. Let the woman walk."

I saw several men with sniper rifles come down to ground level, and I said, "You were supposed to come alone."

"I did. I just found some nearby guys…sue me."

"I'll do you one better!"

I turned sharply. "Yilon?!"

The magician cackled and leapt down to us. "You won't get him today, fun-killer!" He waved his wand, and purple smoke enveloped the three of us. I heard gunfire, then everything went black.

I groaned and attempted to sit up, but someone forced me back down. "No, you're still weak. Relax."

I opened my eyes and looked at the voice. "Solaris…what happened?"

"Yilon. He teleported us out of there…but not before you got hit."

Crap. "Where?"

She looked, and I looked down at my leg, then back at her. "Through-and-through or graze?"

"Grazed the bone. You'll be fine."

I tried to sit up again, and she didn't prevent me this time. "Sol…what happened to Bristir?"

"Other than being supremely pissed, nothing."

I chuckled. "Nice. Where are the others?"

Someone knocked, and I said out of habit, "Enter." Everyone did, and Domino rushed over to me and kissed me. That's what I call treatment…

"You worried me so much, you jerk!"

I chuckled. "Well, I'm fine. Relax."

She exhaled, and I saw Archer smile at me. "You saved Solaris and stayed out of jail. Nice going."

I nodded. "Well, I try."

Solaris picked up a remote and turned on the TV-well, what do you know?

"We failed to capture the target as intended, but we shall not let this discourage us. We shall seek all the more for the one they call Striker."

Bristir and his statements…I laughed, and my staff laughed with me. I looked around and asked, "Where's Yilon?"

They all looked at me, then away. "Guys…he had more than enough power to teleport all three of us."

"You think your briefcase was easy?"

I took a breath. "No…he's not…"

Solaris looked at me with regret. "Solaris, he's not dead! He's powerful!"

She nodded. "That's true…look for yourself." She gestured, and I looked at the bed next to me. "Yilon."

He looked at me and smiled weakly. "Hey, boss…how you doing?"

"Enough about me, how are you?"

He shrugged. "I've been better…especially without a bullet." He gestured at his stomach, which had two holes in it. "Well, two."

"You're gonna be alright…right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, surgery'll help. Hopefully…"

I sighed. "You didn't have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Protect us like that."

He smiled. "I wanted to. It was fun pissing off the man. Oh, Lin was there, too."

I turned to Linderis. "Doing what?"

"Picking his brain. And I have his place of residence and work. I assumed you'd wanna invade."

I smiled, looking around at my evil cohorts. "I love you guys!"


	35. Chapter 35

On the one hand, I could waltz in and kill Bristir whenever I wanted. On the other…

"Ouch, Domino! That hurts!"

She grimaced. "Not my fault you got shot!"

Physical therapy for the leg. "It's unnecessary! It only grazed the bone…"

She grinned. "Yeah, but it gives us more time together…"

I sighed. "Domino, I'm fine. Just let me go so I can plan the invasion to kill Bristir."

She pouted. "Don't you wanna have fun with me?"

I gave her a playful spank. "'Course I do. But business before pleasure."

She sighed. "Fine…"

* * *

><p>A week or so passed. Hey, I wanted him dead, but invasions take planning. So much planning…<p>

I groaned and put my head on my desk, trying to catch up on some sleep. Alas…

"Boss!"

I groaned again and sat up. "What."

Archer walked in. "We've got it."

"Got what?"

"The last details ironed out. We can invade at our leisure, so to speak."

I grinned. "Good. We invade tomorrow."

"Don't you want him dead now?"

"Yes, but I can't kill him if I can barely stay awake."

He nodded. "Good point…well, tomorrow, then." He walked out, and I went into my room and lay down on my bed, getting comfortable for-

A knock. "Not now, I'm resting."

"Even for me?"

I sat up and turned to the door, and it opened to reveal Nulos. "You're still dead, aren't you?"

She nodded, still wearing that sad, sad look that she wore so well. "The invasion tomorrow…everything ends then, doesn't it?"

I nodded, and she sighed. "Sorry I'm not around to see it…"

I shrugged. "Hey, this could have gone on for so much longer."

"Why isn't it?"

I looked at seemingly nothing and said to seemingly no one, "Because someone dictated it so."

"You believe in Arceus?"

I shrugged again. "Not in his religious aspect. Not important…why are you here?"

She smiled sadly. "To see you off in case you die trying."

I smiled. "I won't die trying. Trust me."

"You'd better hope so. I don't wanna see you here."

"I thought you did."

"At one point. Then you and Domino became happy together."

"Thank you."

She nodded and faded into nothing, and I lied back down on my bed, my mind whirling with thoughts of tomorrow's invasion. I fell asleep, dreaming of Bristir's head severed.

* * *

><p>"Alright, today's the day!"<p>

I spoke to a congregation of Rocket goons, my senior staff next to me. "His main base is right here in Hoenn, here in Mauville, actually. Get there quickly and make sure all your weapons are loaded to the brim."

They all checked their weapons, and Archer and Arianna checked their new weapons, which was a broadsword that could shoot from the hilt and knives which could change to handguns, respectively. "Everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded, and I smiled, toting Shi in one hand and my pistol in the other. "Alright, everyone! Let's go to war!"

* * *

><p>The receptionist at the Anti-Crime Institute of Hoenn looked up at the new entry. "Do you have an appointment?"<p>

"Yes, I'm here to see the founder, Bristir. He's here, correct?"

"Yes, he is." The receptionist looked at the stranger oddly and slowly moved his hand towards a gun hidden under the countertop. "And…your name?"

The stranger chuckled. "Striker."

The receptionist's eyes widened, and he pulled his gun, but not before I shot him between the eyes. I chuckled. "Thanks."

I looked over the directory. Figures he'd be on the top floor…I pulled out a radio. "Alright, Alpha team, go!"

My senior staff and a few elite Rocket grunts charged in, and I gestured at the stairs, leading the way through the spacious office complex. We got to the stairs, and I noticed a huge lock. I stepped back and said, "Archer."

He nodded and sliced the lock clean off with his blade, and Arianna got on the other side of the door, nodding. I opened it, gun raised, and seeing no one there, I began to move up, gesturing for my senior staff to follow and the elite grunts to go lower to cut off any out of building reinforcements. As we made our way up the gray, concrete stairs, Solaris made a sound (she had stayed in the region to see this through). I froze, and I heard several footsteps coming down the steps. I raised my pistol and turned the corner, firing three times. I lowered the weapon and looked down at the new corpses. I gestured for them to follow me up, and they tossed the bodies down the stairs. I looked up the staircase. Fortunately, only about five floors or so…still had to move quickly. I turned to my staff and gestured them forwards, and we charged up the stairs.

* * *

><p>We got to the top of the stairs, and Arianna took position, nodding at me. I opened the door, and she went in. I heard no noise, and soon we saw her hand gesture us forward. We followed slowly, moving carefully around the multiple desks and cubicles on the floor. I gestured for them to stop, and I heard from the other side of the floor, "We have intruders, spread out!"<p>

I gestured for them to split up. They did, and I transformed Shi into the Gatling gun, still moving carefully. I looked around for any security, and I heard a startled cry cut short. More cries followed, and I heard Archer call out, "They've made us!"

"Kill anyone in your way and get to the other side!" I ran down the aisle and saw three security men raise their weapons. I fired Shi, and they went down like bowling pins. I ran over them and heard Arianna call out, "Help!"

I turned in her direction and saw her in a firefight with five security guys. "Duck!"

She hit the deck, and I fired Shi, killing all five. She rose and gave me a thumbs-up, and we kept moving. Within a few minutes, we had all made it to the other side. Except one.

I looked around. "Domino?"

"Here! Maybe a little help?"

I turned and saw the rest of the security team surrounding her. She was doing well with her staff, but I saw a man raise his gun. I fired mine first, and between the two of us, they all fell. She came overto us and kissed my cheek, and we faced the door leading into Bristir's office. I turned to them. "Stay out here. I'll only be a minute." I took a breath and walked in.

* * *

><p>I took in the light office. Light-blue paint job, with lots of natural light. I saw the desk at the end, with the swivel chair turned away. "Bristir."<p>

He turned in the chair, his coldness even more enhanced with the air-conditioning. "Striker."

I smirked. "Well, I'm here. I assume you have a weapon close by."

He shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Won't affect you in the slightest."

I nodded. "Good point. I suggest you tell me anyways so we don't have any…surprises."

He stood and regarded me. "I am a man of my word. I have no weapons in my office."

I scoffed. "You're only sixteen."

"So are you."

I scoffed again. "How can you be a man when you're a boy in man's clothing?"

He continued to regard me, then came around to the front of his desk and leaned on it. "Answer me something before you shoot me."

"Very well."

"Milas…was he really that loose-lipped?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. He was very good, though…an incredible agent."

"At least he excelled at something…I just wish I could see him one last time before I died."

I chuckled. "You really wanna see him that bad?"

He looked at me, and I saw less cold in his eyes. "Yes. I do."

I put Shi down, still holding onto my pistol. "I can oblige." I removed my hat and shades and placed them on the ground, and Bristir gasped. "Milas?!"

I nodded. "Brother."

He sighed. "How could I have been so foolish?! You truly are evil to the core!"

I laughed. "That's a compliment, coming from you."

"Last one you'll hear, especially in prison."

"Come again?"

He smirked. "Panic button. Police should be swarming the building now."

I closed my eyes. "You…did what?"

"I caught you and your senior staff all in one trap!"

I raised my pistol and shot once. Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Archer looked at the other senior staff. "He shouldn't have taken this long…"<p>

He looked at the door and noticed two flashes. Muzzle flashes. "Milas is a good shot…he wouldn't need two."

Arianna's eyes widened. "Unless Bristir had a gun!"

They all rushed into the room, and Domino cried out, "No!"

Lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood was Milas himself. He coughed weakly. "Hey, guys…he's dead."

They looked over, and sure enough, Bristir had taken one to the head. Domino turned back to Milas. "Milas…where'd he shoot you?"

He looked down near his heart. "I liked this suit, too…"

Archer and the other senior staff bowed their heads, and Milas said weakly, "Get out. Bristir hit a panic button. Police surrounding the building…shoot them all and get out."

They looked at him with alarm, and he took Domino's hand. "Everyone, run. Domino…wait a moment."

They all looked at each other and ran out. Domino looked after them, then at Milas. "You're not actually…"

"Dying? Yeah. Surgery won't save this one. I can feel it."

Domino sighed. "M…Must I leave you?"

He pulled himself up and kissed her. "You must. Otherwise you'll get caught…the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Or the one." Domino sighed. "I understand." She stood and looked down at him. "Goodbye, Milas."

"Farewell. Oh, and Domino?"

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"Hold the funeral in Slateport, without my body. No one would come anyways…please, remember me."

She started to tear up, and she nodded. "I promise. Slateport."

He smiled. "Good. Go."

She ran out crying, and Milas looked up. "Well, I suppose this worked…" Then he let out a breath. A final breath.

* * *

><p>The funeral was held a week later. Like Milas predicted, no one came save for the Rocket senior staff. The other regional leaders flew in, and Heris gave a touching eulogy. Everyone dispersed except Domino, who stayed a little longer. She looked at a black tulip she brought (not her weapon) and placed it on the coffin. "Farewell…my love."<p>

She bowed her head, and a voice behind her said, "Close to this person, hm?"

She turned and saw a man in a trench coat and hat. She could see nothing of him, and she nodded. "Yes. He was my boyfriend."

The man chuckled. "Love never dies, even when one does. I know that from experience."

Domino wiped some tears away. "You do?"

He nodded. "Quite a big loss, too…I eventually coped, though."

"How?"

He smiled. "I fell in love again with a wonderful woman."

She chuckled. "Hey…wanna go out sometime?"

He looked at the coffin, then at her. "Sure your boyfriend won't mind?"

She looked at the coffin and placed a hand on it. "No…but I would. Thanks."

"Domino, you've been trained better. Don't you recognize a disguise?"

She looked at him sharply. "Excuse me, sir?"

He laughed and tore off his trench coat and hat, and-

* * *

><p>"Milas!"<p>

I laughed again. "Hello, Domino! Good to see you again!"

She hugged me tightly, and I smiled. "How did you survive?!"

I looked at her, then pulled my shirt aside to reveal a bulletproof vest. "Had pellets on there, too."

"But…why?"

I smiled hugely. "They can't arrest me if I'm dead."

She blinked. "How'd you manage that?"

"Ball under the armpit cuts off circulation. They only check once."

She looked him over. "You look great!"

"I feel great!"

"MILAS?!"

I turned to see the other senior staff, led by Heris. "We heard Domino scream…is that really you?"

In response, I pulled out Nulos' knife. Heris' eyes widened, and he hugged me tightly, followed by my other senior staff.

They let go, and I dusted my new suit off. "So, how about we get back to business?"

They all nodded, and I turned to Domino. "I still owe you that date."

She smiled and took me arm in arm, and we went to walk out, but I said, "One minute."

They all nodded and left me alone with my coffin. I looked at the black tulip, picked it up, and put it in my suit pocket. I smiled and remarked to myself, "Sometimes…everything works out, even when it doesn't seem like it will."

I turned and left, leaving the coffin and all my worries behind me.


End file.
